The Protector's Surrogate
by Uruolki
Summary: My first fic. A new kid shows up in Karakura with a mission of his own after Ichigo & co. leave to rescue Rukia and Tatsuki is given a chance to enter the world of Hollows and Shinigami. First chapter is OC introduction.
1. Chapter 1

Hello Internet! This is not only my first fic, it is the first thing I've ever written that I don't have to turn in for a grade. If you don't like OCs, sorry, but I couldn't figure out a way to do this story without them while keep everyone in character. Most of them won't show up until later anyway. I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. I do own the members of the Tutores.

I'll get this out of the way now. This first chapter exists only to introduce new characters. As such, I ask that you at least read through the second chapter before brushing this story off. There's a reason I uploaded the first two chapters at the same time.

I'd like to thank Sen22 for letting me use his sketch.

XXXXX mean a big jump in time

XXX means that short jump in time/happening concurrently

**Bold text is the non-native language (Japanese in this case, but for the rest of the fic, it means English)**

Regular text is the native language

* * *

_What the hell is going on here!? _Kennith Greyson wondered as a tremendous roar echoed through town. The teen was confused both at the source of the roar, an enormous lumbering ape-like creature with a white mask and a hole in its chest that stood at least two stories tall, that had just come into view and the apparent lack of concern given by the people around him. _This has to be some kind of demon _he thought. _Though, I gotta say, ther__e's a lot less Hellfire and brimstone than I would__'__ve expected. _He was snapped out of his thoughts as the creature bellowed again and smashed the side of a building. That got people's attention. All around him, people began panicking and running as buildings were destroyed one after another by seemingly nothing. Ken was about to follow the crowd's example when he saw five forms running toward the monster. As they got closer, he realized they were all kids around his age. He vaguely knew them from school, but one person he recognized instantly. After all, it's pretty much impossible to forget the first friend you make. He still remembered when his family had to move and the promise they shared. He was a little surprised that after his six years absence neither had forgotten their promise to each other to "always be the bestest and closest of friends."

Ken had been shocked at how different Sara McKenzie looked when they first met for the first time after six years a month ago, and as she ran through the crowd getting ready to fight whatever that thing was, because there was no doubt in his mind that was exactly what was about to happen, he thought about both how much she had changed and how much she had stayed the same over the years. She was still every bit "one of the boys" he remembered, but there was no denying that she had definitely matured, both mentally and physically, and had not only become very beautiful, but would continue to do so. As he watched her shoulder-length, dark blonde hair and lithe body that had been toned by hours upon hours of practice in nearly every sport the school district offered, he did his best to ignore the hormones that were welling up inside him. Their friendship was too important to risk it over something like that. Ken still had trouble understanding why she had gone to the lengths she did to close the gap between them after he moved back. She had become a star athlete and her personality allowed her to fit in anywhere. About the only thing he had going for him was that he was tall, around 5'10", but everything else about him broadcasted "weak" from his light brown hair that ran down to the back of his neck, to the glasses that framed his blue eyes, to his very slim build. He did take some amount of pride in that deception though, however strange that was. Spending six years training in Aikido had its advantages. Even if he didn't look like it and was a pacifist by nature, he was confident he could win almost any fight that he was put in without taking more than one or two hits, at least any _human_ fight.

He had just begun to worry about how Sara and his classmates were going to fight the thing when suddenly, three swords and four guns appeared out of nowhere in their hands. Sara surprisingly, _or not, considering her heritage_ Ken mentally added, was wielding a claymore. _Well, technically, it looks more Germanic than Highland, so maybe a zwei-hander would be a better...DAMMIT! Get out of my head Mom and Dad! _Such was the burden of having both parents with Doctorates in history whose collective knowledge spanned from before the founding of Rome to the start of the European Industrial Revolution. Focusing back on the others, Ken slowly put names to the other faces, or backs, as was the case now. The easiest to pick out of the group was Gustav Edwards. He went by Gus, and was the definition of a gentle giant. Built like a wall of muscle, with close-cropped, black hair and brown eyes, he stood at just over six feet. He could have very easily been an ace on the football team's defensive line, but he instead chose to spend his time drawing and writing. The sword that appeared in his hand was only barely a sword by technical definition. _That thing's __as big as he is!_ Ken thought as he moved to the next person. Once he realized who it was, he groaned internally. There was only one person he could think of that had such light-colored hair that it looked almost translucent as it hung down to his ears. He didn't need to see his face to imagine the bright blue eyes that were bright only in color. Ken had felt those eyes on him multiple times since he had moved back and the best way he could describe the feeling was looking into an iceberg or a glacier. He had no idea why Seth Griffon held the amount of animosity, maybe cold indifference was a better phrase, towards him that he did. Ken had only moved back at the start of the school year, so he was pretty sure it wasn't something he did in the past. They hadn't come to blows yet; Ken was grateful for that, but he still wished that if Seth had a problem with him, he'd just come out and say it instead of giving glares or completely ignoring him. Even if there was bad blood between them, Ken had to admit that Seth looked both intimidating and elegant with his French Cavalry officer's saber. _Looks like__ it's from the late 19th, early 20th...this is going to stick with me for the rest of my life; I just know it. _Pushing back the annoyance at his parents, Ken looked at the last two members of the strange group. He remembered they were twins, though they certainly didn't look like it. About the only things they shared were their family name, height, only a couple of inches shorter than Ken, and their lean, toned build. One twin had bleached, straightened hair down to his jaw and was very outgoing, cocky, and a smart-ass. He was also a genius with all things electronic. Whether fixing a microwave or hacking a government mainframe, he could probably get it done before anyone else could figure out where to start. The other had kept his hair the way he was born with it, black and shaggy, which he kept about as long as Ken's hair. He was the opposite of his brother, being rather withdrawn and humble. Ken didn't know much about him, but Alex shared his brother's genius. His area of expertise was in strategy and tactics. He routinely played strategy games, and was always able to win no matter how unfairly he tipped the AI and difficulty against him. Together, Damien and Alexander Alighieri seemed to complement and balance each other. _Even their guns follow the whole 'Yin-Yang' thing they have__ going on. _Ken noted. Both wielded one black and one chrome pistol which, if he had the knowledge, Ken might have recognized as being very heavily modified M1911s.

Ken was too far away to hear what was happening, but someone must have started giving orders. That or they had done this so often that it was second nature to them. As the group closed in on the monster, the twins broke off, took the flanks, and began firing at the creature. The shots didn't seem to do much more than irritate it though. As the monster was distracted by the peppering fire, it didn't notice the two swordsmen as they ran up and while Seth was able to cut deep enough to wound it, Gus nearly took the entire leg with him. The monster let out a loud cry as it fell to the ground. As soon as it began falling, the twins changed their aim from distraction to causing as much pain as possible, aiming for weak points, but focusing on the holes in the mask that would have held eyes and the hole in the middle of the beast's chest. Going on instinct, the creature tried to brace its fall with its hands. All it accomplished was more pain as Gus and Seth were there waiting to slice across what would be its wrists if it was human. The cry released was distinctly different from the first one Ken had heard. This was a wail of pain. The cry was cut short as Sara appeared on the thing's back just below its neck. With movements that could only be trained by combat, she slid her sword into the neck and jumped off the back. As she came down, her blade spun through the demon's throat, ending with a remarkably clean, almost surgical, decapitation.

As the creature dissolved into nothingness and the weapons used to defeat it likewise vanished, Ken wanted to go and figure out exactly what had just happened. But something held him back. He had just seen people he knew as well as his best friend fight something out of fantasy with near military precision. Just what would he say to them? While he stood fighting with himself, the moment passed. The group had begun to walk away from the sight of the battle that Ken had witnessed. Sighing and hanging is head in resignation, he turned and began walking home. He failed to notice the balding old man who had been sitting in a chair that had been abandoned when the crowd panicked and not only saw his internal struggle, but had watched the fight like a teacher or coach watching his charges to see how much they had learned.

XXXXX

"And so, I hold you to these oaths you have sworn. I officially accept you into the Tutores. Welcome to the family Ken." Sara said as the two friends gave each other a hug.

"Congrats man," Damien said while slapping Ken on the back, "now let's get some food. I want pizza!"

"You always want pizza. I'm surprised that you don't weigh more than Gus by now." Alex remarked while turning to face the newest member of their group. "I hope you realize exactly what you're getting into. This is dangerous work."

"Aw, lay off the newbie for a while and let's enjoy the party. We'll have plenty of time to haze him later." With that, the bleached twin headed off to the kitchen.

"You are welcome to anything in there, but clean up after yourself." Gus commented as Damien passed by. Looking over to Ken, he added "I'm glad you've joined, but Alex is right. This is dangerous."

"If he dies, it's his own fault for being weak and foolish." Seth commented from the couch.

"Seth, leave him alone. You weren't exactly a model fighter when you first joined." a new voice said. "You still aren't." the same voice mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll leave him alone. Quit nagging, old man." Seth replied to the man who had walked in.

"Come on Seth; show Chekhov at least a _little_ respect." Sara scolded.

The man in question just blew the remark off. "It's okay, Sara. It doesn't bother me." Yerik Chekhov was a very short, balding old man with white tufts of hair on either side of his head and a white mustache. He was born in Russia and spent the vast majority of his life traveling the world. Despite his age, which Ken couldn't really guess, over 60 at least, Yerik was amazingly spry and active. He could be rather eccentric, Ken had found out, but he meant well and cared for each member of the Tutores like one of his own children. "Now, let's follow Damien's example and PARTY! GUS, WHERE DO YOUR PARENTS KEEP THE BOOZE?" Yerik yelled as he ran off towards the kitchen laughing the whole way.

"You might want to go keep an eye on him Gus. I know your family's rich and all, but I don't think that your parents would be willing to pay for how much alcohol he can go through." Sara said. Gus shared her sentiment and hurriedly followed after the old man. "Hey Ken, follow me. I want to talk to you alone." Not really questioning it, Ken got up and followed Sara out onto the second floor terrace leaving Seth and Alex in the living room everyone had just been in.

Once they were outside, Ken leaned back against the railing as Sara shut the door and looked at him with a very serious look in her eye.

Ken was a little confused. "What's up? I don't think I've ever seen that look before. Is everything okay?"

Sara uncharacteristically seemed to crumple and dropped to the floor like she couldn't bear some crushing weight anymore. "I just want to apologize." she breathed out almost as if the words were going to hurt her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about all of this sooner, but I wanted to keep you safe." Ken could almost see the sadness and self-loathing coming off of her in waves. "You're the first friend I ever made and you represented my old, normal life, the one before I began fighting Demons. I—"

"It's okay. I forgive you." Ken cut in as he walked over and joined her on the floor. He didn't like seeing his best friend like this. Sara was supposed to make a whole room smile and help those who were feeling down, not be the one who needed cheering up. "I forgave you the instant you told me what all of this" he gestured toward the house and its current occupants "was about. You don't need to keep beating yourself up over it. It's in the past. Just forget about it."

"I can't! And how can you forgive me?! If I had told you sooner you wouldn't have..." Sara stopped and stared at Ken's left shoulder and side.

Ken moved his right hand up to his shoulder and noticed tears beginning to well up in her eyes. That was too much for him. If there was one thing that he didn't want to see, it was Sara crying. "Hey! This was NOT your fault. Remember that. I got this because of my own stupidity. If anything, I should be thanking you for saving my life."

"But—"

"No 'but's." Ken interrupted and put an arm around his closest friend. "You apologized, I forgave you. That's how friendship works, simple as that. We don't need to bring it up again, okay?"

Sara still looked upset, but sighed and when she looked back at him, she seemed better. "Fine, just be careful. I don't want to lose my best friend. I worry about you." She then moved over and hugged Ken, who returned it while enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms. It had become harder and harder to suppress his emotions as time had passed and the current situation, the two of them alone on a terrace in the moonlight, wasn't helping. He was able to get out "You be careful too. I worry about you too." before Damien stuck his head out the door. _And I care about you more than I'll ever be able to express._

"Hey guys, get in here! Chekhov's got himself plastered. It's priceless." He stopped when he saw the two of them sitting on the floor. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, we're good. Just had some stuff to get out in the open." Sara replied.

"Reeeeaaly?" Damien got a dangerous glint in his eye and a Cheshire grin crept on his face. "You sure I didn't just miss a confession of a love that's existed since Time Eternal!? The unleashing of a passion burning with the fury of a thousand suns!? An offer of that which is most precious, an unblemished maidenhood, to be taken by-"

"NO! NOTHING HAPPENED!" both voices on the floor cut him off.

"Alright then. But seriously Ken, you need to come see this. Deuces!" Shrugging his shoulders and flashing the peace sign, he returned to wherever the old man was.

"Well, shall we go see what drunken rant it is this time?" Sara asked while standing up, blushing at the implications of Damien's teasing.

"You mean this is an everyday occurrence?" Ken shot back as they both headed back into the house, his cheeks also gaining a rosy hue.

"Well, usually it's only one a day, but sometimes we're treated to a double feature. It usually depends on how much alcohol he can get." Sara giggled.

"I'sh tellin' ya Imma wishard. I can do hall schorts'a magic. I'm da Great Wishard Master Makarov!"

"You're name's Chekhov, not Makarov ya drunk." Sara corrected as she and Ken entered the room to see Yerik standing on the table. "But just what kinds of magic can you do?"

"I can *hic* I can make ma-self dishappear. Jus'you watch. Three, t-two, one, blashoff!" With that Yerik proceeded to fall face-first off the table only to be caught by Gus who had been standing at the ready since this whole thing started. "Huh, where'd everyone go? Yoooohoooo, where'd ya go kidsh?"

XXXXX

"Do tibi Crepidae Paces" a spectral figure stated as it began to glow and morph into a ball of energy before floating and stopping in front of Ken. "Are you sure you don't want them Seth? You've been a member longer." Ken asked.

"Keep 'em. Now that we have five, the only one left is the Sword. I can wait." was the gruff reply.

"Okay then." Ken said as he drew the orb close and watched as it began to merge with his body. There was a flash of light and after it faded, the only noticeable change was a new pair of books Ken was wearing.

"Why don't you try going through the stages, Ken?" Yerik questioned while all of the Tutores watched.

"Sure. Let's hope I remember how." As Ken focused, the boots began to glow and morphed into two silver anklets.

"Aw, how cute! I have a pair of bracelets that would go perfect with those." Sara teased once everyone saw their new state.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ken responded dryly. _Well, not my first choice, but I can live with it. Focus on fighting. A battle. _Again, the anklets began to glow and morph. Once the glow was gone, Ken looked down and gave a low whistle. Now each leg was encased in a tight leather boot with sabatons and greaves riveted to them. The greaves had light blue swirls and jagged gold cracks engraved on black metal and ran up his shin, stopping just above the knee.

"Okay, I take back the bracelet joke. Those look awesome!" Sara exclaimed.

"No kidding, all I get are a pair of goggles. At least you get some _actual_ armor." Alex added.

"How about we test their abilities?" Yerik said after coughing to get everyone's attention.

"I don't have a problem with that, but what exactly do the Sandals do?" Ken asked.

"What do you think a pair of ancient, magical footwear would let you do?" was the deadpan reply.

"Fine, I'll figure it out on my own." _Let's see, maybe flight? _"Woah!" On cue, the armored boots began to rise. "This will take some getting used to." Ken said as he wobbled in midair.

"This definitely opens new possibilities." Alex mused. "Can they do anything else?"

"I don't know. Chekhov, you said 'ancient'. How far back are we talking?"

"What do you have in mind?"

In response, the boots began to morph again, this time they became sandals with leather straps running up Ken's shins and had small wings attached to the heels. "I was thinking Hermes. It's time for a speed test. I'm headed that way." He pointed and with that, Ken literally disappeared followed shortly by a very loud boom.

"Holy shit! That was the sound barrier! Are you kidding me? Man, Ken's picked up some serious speed. Over/under on how long it'll take him to get good at it? Anyone?" Damien questioned.

"Not now, what if he seriously hurt himself? The human body isn't designed to handle that kind of acceleration." Sara rebuked.

"Careful Boss, your feelings are showing. Wouldn't want us to get the wrong impression." Damien snarked back.

"If he can control that speed, I can't wait to try out some new ideas." Alex began mumbling to himself as plan after plan began forming in his head.

"Enough. Sara's right, we should go find him." Gus said.

The group eventually found Ken, a couple of miles away passed out with both legs broken amid a pile of broken trees.

As he slowly regained consciousness, he saw Sara kneeling at his legs, her belt gone, but a ball of energy in her hands. "Hey guys, took you long enough." he hissed in pain. "Ow! Damn this hurts."

"Oh great, he's already making speed jokes." grumbled Seth.

Sara shot him a look and turned back to Ken. "Don't _ever_ try that again! You were less than an inch away from multiple compound fractures. It's tough enough to deal with our usual injuries. I'm not in any hurry to find out just how good my healing abilities are."

Ken raised his hand in a mock salute. "Sir, yes sir. Now, I'm going to pass out again. Don't draw anything on my face."

XXXXX

May 17, 7:13PM; Karakura Town, Japan

"**Give me the sword, shinigami!"** Ichigo said. "**Let's give your idea a try!"**

"**It's not 'Shinigami.' It's 'Kuchiki Rukia.'"** the petite shinigami replied.

"**I see…I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. Let's pray this doesn't become the last greeting for the both of us. The Hollow's coming, if we don't hurry…****"**

The teen and the spirit both braced themselves as the Hollow roared and began to charge at them.

"**Let's do it."** Ichigo said.

"**Right."** was Rukia's reply. With that she shoved the sword through the orange-haired teen, releasing an enormous explosion of spiritual energy.

XXX

A man in a lab that could only come from a mad scientist's wet dream stopped on what he was working on. "It seems that Kuchiki-san has done something rash. I guess I'll have to move my timetable up." The man turned back to a cadaver of a teen-aged girl and continued to work, installing a crystal into the body with a large flash of power.

XXX

May 17, 4:13AM; Texas, USA

Ken awoke with a gasp and broke out in a cold sweat. _This ki, it's familiar. It feels like it's a piece of the Armor. The Sword is the only one left. Thank you Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I gotta make sure to tel__l the others tomorrow. _He then looked over at the clock. _Scratch that, today. Well, at least it's a Saturday._

"You sure you sensed the Sword? Every piece of my equipment, thanks for buying it by the way Gus, is telling me you're wrong." Damien questioned after all the Tutores had gathered at Gus's house, their unofficial headquarters.

Ken and Alex were sitting on one of the couches playing chess. As expected, Alex was dominating.

"Are you doubting my perception ability? Besides, why would I lie about something like this? Though, something did feel off and it seemed far away. Not like 'across-town' or 'across-the-state' far. More like 'across-the-country.' Wherever it is, we'll probably need passports to get there." Ken replied as he moved one of his knights.

"No, if anyone could have sensed a piece of the Armor, it'd be you, but why didn't you tell me about the distance beforehand? That changes everything! I set the search radius way too small! And what do you mean by it felt 'off''?" Damien questioned as he spun back around and began typing.

Alex looked over the board and moved a bishop. "Checkmate."

Ken sighed and leaned back. "Well, we all knew it was going to happen. But hey, I got two more pieces than last time. I count that as progress." Ken got up and walked over to Damien. "It's hard to explain. I guess the pieces we already have feel…raw…that's a bad way to explain it, but this felt manufactured, if that makes any sense."

"No it doesn't, but thanks for telling us anyway. I'm glad you brought this to our attention. Even if it's not the Sword, at least you found something." Sara said from a chair. "In any case, Damien, keep up the search. Alex, you, Seth, and Gus try to dig up as much info on the Sword as possible. I want to know as much as possible about what kind of Guardians we might come across. Ken, see if you can narrow down where you felt the Sword."

A chorus of "You got it." and its many variants answered her as everyone broke off to do their assigned jobs. Ken walked over and sat down by Yerik.

"As much as she doesn't want it, she's a natural-born leader." Yerik commented as Sara went over to help the research team.

"She's been like that since we were little. She would always take charge and others naturally followed her. I'm kinda surprised she's not interested in getting a military commission. She would make an incredible officer." Ken added.

"No doubt." Yerik turned and looked at Ken. "By the way, what happened to your eye?"

"Oh, this?" Ken asked as he pointed to his face. For one thing, his glasses were nowhere to be found. For another, one eye was his normal dark blue, but the other was a dim green. "I've started wearing contacts. As for the color, it happened soon after I got the Sandals and crashed into those trees. Turns out that blunt force trauma can change a person's eye color. Who knew? I like to think that they make me more memorable. And besides, it's kinda fun to mess with people's heads. You wouldn't believe some of the stares I get now whenever I meet someone."

"I'll agree with the first point and plead the Fifth on the second. I'm just glad you've become such close friends with everyone."

Ken sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Most of them are fine. I trust Gus with my life. I'd let Sara lead me blindfolded through a minefield. Damien can be tough to deal with, but he'll be there if you really need him, and I trust Alex to not send me in over my head. I still don't know what Seth's problem is though. I try to be friendly, but he acts like I'm waiting to stab him in the back."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. He's like that towards everyone. Maybe he just has a problem dealing socially. But a serious question. What do you think this 'manufactured' feeling means?"

"I don't know. I just hope that whatever happens, we all stay safe."

XXXXX

Several months passed without much incident as the Tutores kept searching for the source of the disturbance Ken felt and researching the Sword of the Spirit until one day in late July when they were all at Gus's house: "Hey, Ken, you know any Japanese?" Damien shouted across the room.

"**I know a little, you trigger-happy excuse for a miserable gunman. **Why?"

At this, Yerik did a spit-take and had to fight to keep from bursting out laughing; earning him confused looks from everybody except Ken, who just looked surprised.

"I'm gonna go ahead and ignore what I'm sure was a personal insult because I'm just that nice of a person and answer your question. I asked because damn Ken, your perception ability is terrifying. Hope you like rice, cause you're headed to Japan."

"Wait, why me? And why Japan? Are you telling me I sensed the Sword from the other side of the world?"

"Because you're still the newbie here and you were the one who started this hunt; I can't say for certain, but there's definitely some weird readings coming from there, ignoring the usual weirdness that comes from Japan, and, if the Sword really is there, yes you did, which I believe qualifies for a 'damn." was Damien's reply.

"You know that second comment was incredibly racist, right?" Gus asked the out-going twin.

"Ain't racist if it's true. Case in point: ganguro."

"If it pleases the court, may I present: ethnocentrism exhibit A." Alex quipped.

"Actually, I'm with Damien on this one. Fake tans and bleached hair looks fine in black and white and decent when animated, but in real life, ugh." Yerik chimed in, leaving everyone in the room speechless.

"Ignoring the dumb comments, can I assume that you've pinpointed the Sword?" Sara cut in.

"Like I said, I have no idea if the Sword is even there. All I know is that there are some really strange waves coming from near Tokyo," he glanced at one of the many computer monitors he had hooked up "some place called Karakura Town, and Ken said what he sensed, which we believe is the Sword, was far away. I'm just assuming that they are one in the same." Damien answered.

"It'll have to do for now." She then turned to his brother. "Alex, what have you found out?"

The quieter twin stood and began his presentation. "The Sword of the Spirit. The last piece of the Armor of God we're missing. As far as we've been able to tell, it is very likely that you already know what kind of power it has. Excalibur, Mjölnir, Zeus's thunderbolts, Gáe Bolg, the Lance of Longinus, almost every famous weapon from mythology is probably one of its pseudonyms. As such, any Guardian you meet will probably be more inclined to fight than talk and will be very strong, so you better hope that your speed will be enough to deal with them, Ken."

"You make it sound like you won't be there with me." Ken said.

"That's because we won't. We have no idea if the Sword is even there. You're the one who sensed it, so you're going there to try to find it. Me and Alex are decent, but your ability to sense things blows both of us out of the water. Compared to you, everyone else can't tell what's inches in front of their face." Sara explained.

She barely finished her sentence before Seth slammed his fists into the table beside him, his whole body quivering. "I won't let that comment slide. I refuse to let anyone belittle me!"

"Yeah, yeah 'I am the strongest. I'm the best. I can do anything.' You know she's right, Seth. We suck at sensing just about anything. Before he joined, we had trouble knowing when a Demon showed up. Now we almost know where they'll be before they show up." Damien interrupted, putting a hand on Seth's shoulder and turning toward Sara. "Though did you have to be so blunt? What if you hurt my delicate feelings? You know I'm a sensitive soul." he exclaimed throwing the back of his hand to his forehead in an overly dramatic fashion.

Sara just sighed "Your concern has been duly noted and will be taken into consideration. I consider you an idiot. Anyway, Ken, if you _do_ find the Sword, contact us and we'll all head get there as soon as we can. Do NOT try to take on the Guardian alone; none of us can handle a guardian one-on-one except maybe Chekhov."

"Hey, don't over-estimate me. I might have been able to handle one in my hay-day, but I'm just an old man now! The only reason you got the Belt was because its Guardian had no desire to fight. It just wanted someone to talk to." Yerik quickly stated

XXXXX

The morning of August 7th found the Tutores at George Bush Intercontinental Airport ready to see Ken off.

"Have fun! And bring me back the weirdest thing you can find." Damien asked.

"Sure. I'll buy you a big body pillow with some dude on it. It'll keep you warm at night." Ken replied.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything then. By the way, how's your 'secret technique' coming along?" Damien quickly asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not bad. I'd say that I'm done working out all the principles. All that's left is field testing. And don't worry. If all goes well, you can get something yourself." Ken glanced at his watch. "Almost time for my flight."

As Ken was getting ready to board, he heard a shout behind him. When he turned around, all six people had their right hand in an "L" shape with the back of their hands facing him. He smiled and turned back towards the plane. As he walked away, he repeated the action over his shoulder toward his friends.

While over the Pacific, Ken thought about what it was he was doing. _I'm flying to another country because of what's at best a shaky possibility to try to find the most powerful weapon in the history of the world. I should start keeping a journal, my life would make for an interesting story. __Well, I'm getting closer anyway. Might as well see if I can get any more details before I arrive._ He fouced and began to meditate. It took a some time, but he was able to sense several impossibly strong kis. _Wow, Damien was right about my ability to sense presences. I'm scaring myself__._ Several of them, maybe five or six, were gathered together, but it was hard to say exactly. It felt like something was between them and him, like looking at something through frosted glass. There was also another one by itself. It couldn't compare to the other kis he sensed, but it was still incredibly strong for a normal human. Suddenly, most of the grouped presences simply vanished. _What the…_ That was enough to break his concentration, and try as he might, he couldn't find the presences that had been there just a second anywhere.

After he had landed and made his way to Karakura Town, he realized just how unprepared he was. He had set up a small apartment and Gus agreed to pay the rent, but none of them had thought about how he was going to get all of his luggage there. This meant that he had to carry everything while searching in a new town for a place he had never been to. _Now I know why they call it 'lug'gage. Ow! That pun actually hurt. Still, at least I pack relatively light. Only a suitcase__ and two duffel bags. That's good in my opinion._ Even though he was focused on the weight of his clothes and amenities, it didn't stop him from sensing the same ki that had been alone while on the plane.

"**Hey, are you lost or something? Do you need some hel****p?"**

Ken turned and saw the source of the ki that had been approaching. A girl his age with black, spiky hair and dark eyes. "**Slower please. It's my first time in Japan."** he replied.

"**You look out-of-place. Do you need some help with anything?"** The girl repeated.

"**Is**** it that obvious? Yes, I'm completely lost. Any help would be great." **Ken thanked the girl as she grabbed one of his bags. "**I'm Kennith Greyson. You can call me Ken."** he said as he stuck out his hand.

The girl stared at it long enough for Ken to realize that a handshake wasn't the best way to introduce yourself in Japan before taking it. "**I'm Arisawa Tatsuki."**

* * *

So that's the first chapter/prologue. Are you in any way intrigued? Did I set up the Tutores alright? Am I in danger of making Mary Sues/Gary Stus?


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter up. I already had it written, so the next one will take a while. Again, thanks to Sen22 for the sketch. I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. I do own the Tutores.

**English**

Japanese

_Thoughts_

* * *

"**No, no, no, nonononono! …haaaaaahh" **Ken sighed as 'Asuka Wins' flashed across his screen, Eddy Gordo lying in a pile of broken concrete at her feet.

"Heh heh, you lost Ken. You teach later." Tatsuki gloated.

"Come on! You know I'm not good at fighting games. Besides, I'm still sore from being thrown around yesterday." Ken groaned.

"Maybe if you used a stick instead of a controller you'd stand a chance."

"I don't play enough to warrant me buying one."

It had been a couple of weeks since Ken had shown up in Japan, and though he wasn't any closer to finding the Sword, he had become friends with Tatsuki. When he explained that he would be in town for a while, she offered to show him around. He accepted and when they discovered that both practiced martial arts, Tatsuki had been excited to see what he could do. After their first spar, Tatsuki was impressed and suggested that they teach each other their respective fighting styles; at the very least, it wouldn't hurt to broaden their skillset. Ken accepted partly because it would keep him in practice and because he felt that he owed Tatsuki something for helping him out so much. There was also the added bonus of having someone to help him with his Japanese. Though now he was beginning to regret it some. While he enjoyed learning and Tatsuki was a receptive student, she was very passionate and deserved her title as second strongest woman in Japan, though he heard the story about the competition, he was convinced she deserved the title of strongest. He was sure that there were multiple times where if he hadn't forced himself to go to the ground harder than normal, he would be in a cast right now, which made the bruises seem small in comparison. There was also the strange rule she made up where the teacher would be determined by whoever lost at Tekken.

"Too bad for you. You lost; you teach. Now, let's head for the dojo." Tatsuki was cut off by a growling sound. Her hand jumped to her stomach and a blush crept up to her face.

Ken smirked. "If it's all the same to you, I don't feel like getting tossed around. How about this, I'll cook something and we take a break from sparring today, deal? You'll get a free meal out of this."

Regaining some of her lost pride, Tatsuki turned to him. "Fine, but you're still teaching tomorrow. What are you going to make, anyway? I didn't know you could cook." she questioned as they both entered her family's kitchen.

"This coming from the one who cooks as a hobby?" Passing his hand between Tatsuki and himself, Ken said "**Pot, I'm Kettle.** You never gave me a chance. How about some chili? I'm feeling homesick. Consider it your chance to eat authentic foreign food." Ken stopped as what he just said registered. **"Never thought I'd e****ver refer to chili as foreign food."** he muttered to himself. Looking around, he found next to none of the ingredients needed. "Wow, there's next to nothing in here. I'll go run and get everything. Be back soon." Ken said as he headed out the door leaving Tatsuki alone with her thoughts.

Tatsuki walked back into her living room and sat down on her couch. As she did, her eyes fell on a picture of her and another girl, one with long orange hair and a cheerful smile. _I hope you're safe Orihime._ She said that she was going to visit her grandmother's house for a while. Tatsuki knew that she was lying. That fact wouldn't bother her so much if it was anyone other than Orihime. Tatsuki had been lied to and lied several times before, but this was Orihime. She hadn't been sure Orihime _could_ lie. Something very serious had to be happening for her to be lied to by her closest friend, excluding Ichigo.

As his name entered her mind, Tatsuki gave a heavy sigh. _When did we grow so far apart? We've been friends since we were _four_. Sure, we grew apart some in middle school, but that's what you're supposed to do, and even then we were still close._ Her mind drifted to some of her memories with him. Their first meeting, the shock when his mom died, her doing her best to try to help Ichigo out of his depression, fighting bullies side-by-side, the first time she met the rest of his family, the pranks they'd play on others and themselves, the first and only time she lost to him. Something was happening to her friends and even though she couldn't be sure, she had a feeling that Ichigo was in the center of it. _There was a reason he would always run out of class only for Rukia...Why did everyone seem to forget about her?_ _No, not seem, did. Everyone _did _forget about her. Actually, he starte__d acting strange right when she showed up. Was she the one who started all of this? There's some sort of connection between them, I just don't know what it is. And now he's disappeared and Orihime is lying to my face. I bet she went wherever Ichigo disappe__ared to. If that's the case, it's probably dangerous and she didn't want me to worry; too late for that. At least Ichigo is there. He'll put her safety above his own._ Flopping down onto her couch, she sighed. "Just come back you idiot. I don't want to lose either of my best friends."

Having finished that line of thought, Tatsuki's mind jumped to another one, this one involving the newest person to enter her life. It was obvious that Ken was hiding something from her and his "foreign-exchange student" line was bull, _That must count for some type of super power, right? Having friends hide important, significant parts of their lives from you?_ He was friendly enough, and it surprised her how much fun she had helping him with Japanese. She had to admit, Aikido was a fascinating martial art. It had no strikes or offensive moves of any kind. It just took any energy from the attacker and turned it around on them, a concept that, while not completely new to her, was still foreign in her comfortable fighting style. Even so, she knew next to nothing about him personally. She was knocked out of her reverie when she glanced at the clock and saw that she'd been lost in her thoughts for more than an hour. It took thirty minutes tops to go get food and come back, and she had sent him for food after pounding him into both the virtual and real ground that Ken shouldn't have gotten lost. With nothing else to do and a little worried, Tatsuki got up and left to go look for him.

XXX

While Tatsuki was lost in her thoughts, twelve people were gathered together, all of whom were wearing a white haori. "Where the hell is that fox?" a bored, and thus agitated, Kenpachi bellowed. "First he lets some intruders get away and now he's late for a meeting that was called because of what he did."

"Now now, I don't think Captain Ichimaru would appreciate being called a fox." a quiet looking man wearing glasses answered. "Just be patient. By the way, I heard that some of your division had stumbled upon quite the mystery Captain Kurotsuchi. Would you be so kind as to enlighten the rest of us?"

"Bah, it's just something those idiots I call my subordinates found." a man with a painted face replied. "Apparently right as the Kuchiki girl was brought back, an unusual reiatsu showed up in the town she was taken from. It always shows up near a Hollow and vanishes just after the Hollow's signature disappears. Our sensors are having trouble determining the source both because of how quickly it shows up and its composition is unlike anything in our database. I personally couldn't care less about it."

"For someone who claims to not care about this, you sure seem to know a lot about it." a man wearing a pink haori with flower print commented.

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean that I'll let my men do whatever they want. I make it a point to keep tabs on my men, a concept that I'm sure you've never heard of."

_Interesting. _Aizen thought before being interrupted by the leader of the Gotei 13. "Enough! Ignore it for now. Our first priority is dealing with these intruders. But after this is done, I want you to investigate the source of this reiatsu. The fact that we don't know what it is troubles me." Genryusai Yamamoto ordered the leader of the Research Division and Squad 12.

"Fine. I'll put one of my officers on it." came the reply.

XXX

_Dammit. It shouldn't be this hard to find a foreigner in Karakura. _Tatsuki thought as she walked around trying to find Ken. She wasn't so much worried about him as she was curious about what happened to keep him so late. As she turned a corner, she bumped into a little kid. Or at least she would have if the kid hadn't ran _through_ her. "Gah, what the Hell!?" The kid stopped probably more surprised at her outbreak than the fact that she could see him. As Tatsuki looked at him, her eyes were drawn to his chest. There was a mount and chain hanging from it. "You're a ghost, aren't you?" she asked the kid. "Hey, what's wrong?" The child looked like he'd stared Death in the face. _How ironic_. "What's your name?"

"I'm Mitsuo. There was a monster that said he was going to eat me. I was scared until some man came and told me to run. Please help him!" the child blubbered out.

"Some man? What did he look like?" _Oh please don't be who I think it is. Please!_

"I don't know his name. He had brown hair and…Oh! His eyes! They were different colors!"

"Dammit Ken! Okay, where is he? He's one of my friends. He's in danger!" Mitsuo's face flushed with fear. "It's okay. You don't have to go back to where the monster is. Just tell me how to get there. I don't want my friend to get hurt." Tatsuki tried to soothe him.

"T-T-Tsubakidai Park. That's where he found me." Mitsuo stuttered out, still obviously very frightened.

"Tsubakidai Park? Thanks. Stay here until I come back, okay?"

After Mitsuo nodded and promised to wait, Tatsuki sprinted off towards the park. _This is bad! If this monster thing is like the one that attacked Orihime, Ken's in trouble._ As she came up on the park, she was brought to a stop. Ken was fighting, well, a giant toad. It was kind of fuzzy, but Tatsuki could definitely make out the general shape of it. Ken also had a katana and armored boots. _Where did those come from?_ His katana had a light blue wrapping with a silver tassel that ended in a dark blue bead and the boots looked like they were designed for some ancient battlefield.

Refocusing on the battle, Tatsuki heard the creature shout and charge Ken. As its tongue shot out like a bullet, it missed Ken by centimeters. Again and again, the tongue shot out and every time, just barely missed. "How are you doing that?! No one can move that fast. It's not possible."

"It's not that complicated." Ken replied. "I just know where you're aiming and making sure that I'm not there."

The frankness of his statement caused the Hollow to falter. "What? What are you talking about? How can you know where I'm trying to strike?" Again the tongue shot out and again it missed Ken. This time, however, the tongue turned around and shot back from behind Ken.

"Ken! Behind you!" Ken turned and saw Tatsuki standing there. "Tatsuki? Why are-**gah!**" He had already been moving out of the way, but the tongue had clipped his thigh. **"Dammit, that hurts! Okay, enough play-time." **With that, Ken disappeared. Both Tatsuki and the Hollow stood stunned staring at what was now empty space. Suddenly, the Hollow yelled in pain as slashes appeared along its legs and it crashed to the ground. Ken reappeared in front of it just as fast as he disappeared.

"What did you do?" the Hollow questioned.

"Simple. I severed every major tendon in your body. Consider yourself lucky to still be able to talk." Ken said as he turned and walked over towards Tatsuki. "And what are you doing here?" Seeing the look on her face and her turning between him and the Hollow, he asked "You can actually see that Demon? Well, your ki is definitely strong enough to allow you to, but it's still dangerous."

Before Tatsuki could ask what he meant, the Hollow's tongue shot out trying to pierce Ken through the chest. As it got close, he vanished and appeared on top of the Hollow's head. **"Bad move Kermit. You know the saying about the frog at the bottom of the well? It fits you to a T. You have no idea what kind of powers exist outside of your little circle of sky."** With that, Ken slid his blade cleanly through the Hollow's head. As it disintegrated, he fumbled and went down. Tatsuki ran over and for the first time, saw the amount of damage his leg had taken. There must have been barbs on the tongue because there were several deep cuts; a few almost went down to the bone.

"What _was_ that thing? No, first we need to get you to a hospital." She was stopped when Ken grabbed her arm. "I'm gonna put off several of my questions and ask: how's the kid?"

Tatsuki was surprised. _His leg's like this and his fir__st thought is about the kid? _"He's fine. I told him to wait for me after he told me where you were? What about your leg?"

"So you know where he is? Great, take me there."

Tatsuki was getting flustered. "It took me ten minutes to run here. How do you expect to make it that far with your leg like that?"

"My leg" Ken looked and grimaced "well, it looks bad, but the Demon seemed to have a numbing agent on its barbs. I don't feel anything. By the way, can you drive a car?"

"What? What does driving have to do with anything? I mean, sure, I know how, but I can't legally."

As she was talking, Ken's boots began to glow and the light morphed into a small, unassuming coup.

Tatsuki stood dumbfounded. "Wha-how-who?"

"I'll explain later, now would you be so kind as to drive?" Ken said trying to hobble into the passenger-side door.

Before they left, Ken turned and stared intently at a stand of trees before turning away.

"Do you think he knew we were here Boss?" a giant man with corn rolls and a moustache asked.

"If his fighting style is based on what I think it is, I have no doubt that he knows exactly where we are." a blond with a striped bucket hat answered. _Well, that explains the strange new reiatsu that's been popping up. It's hard to imagine something woul__d happen that I didn't have a plan for, but the Universe is a strange place._

XXX

After they found Mitsuo and Ken did some weird exorcist thing to him, Tatsuki took him to the Kurosaki Clinic.

Once they were outside, the coup morphed back into a pair of shoes, must to Tatsuki's continued confusion.

"You might want to stand back from the door. This guy's a little…strange." Tatsuki warned before knocking on the door.

It was answered by a girl with black hair. "Tatsuki-nee! It's been a long time since you came here. What are you…" Whatever question Karin Kurosaki had was stopped in her throat when she saw the figure leaning against her role model and the gashes on his leg. "Shit, that's bad. DAD, EMERGENCY TREATMENT NEEDED! YUZU, GO PREPARE A ROOM!"

In a flash, the members of the Kurosaki family had Ken in the small operating room and Tatsuki was waiting and catching up with the twins in their living room.

Alone with this kid he'd never seen before, Isshin was trying to figure out what could have caused such a wound. He had an idea, but that would mean that this kid had enough reiatsu to attract Hollows. "Jesus, how are you still standing? Even if you could push past the pain, you should have passed out from blood loss. So, what happened?"

"Would you believe I fell out of a tree?" Ken tried.

"Kid, I'm a doctor, not an idiot." While he was a child at heart, Isshin was serious when it came to being a doctor. His drive to help others had gotten even stronger after his wife was killed and it had never waned.

"Fine. I was in a fight and lost my concentration when Tatsuki showed up. I was so focused on the fight I didn't even notice her show up. That's when it did this."

"A fight? What were you fighting that could do this kind of damage?" Isshin pressed.

Sighing, Ken hung his head in defeat. "This may sound crazy, but it was a giant toad Demon. I know that much from its white mask and hole. Though, this is the first non-humanoid Demon I've seen."

Isshin did his best to hide his shock, but wasn't able to completely hide it. _This kid just described a Hollow. Did he actually fight one and beat it?! Does Kisuke know about this?_ Regaining his composure, he went back to fixing his patient.

XXX

Once the deep gashes were sewn up and the whole leg bandaged, Isshin finished by telling Ken to stay off his leg for a few days and no strenuous activity for a couple of weeks. They headed back into the living area of the clinic to rejoin Tatsuki and the twins who were catching up.

Seeing Ken walking back on crutches, Tatsuki pulled him into the conversation. "So, how's your leg doing?"

Ken leaned against a wall before answering. "I'm alright. I gotta keep off of it for a while, but no permanent damage."

Tatsuki sighed. "That's good, I guess. How long until you can train again?"

"You do martial arts? That's another ban until you heal." Isshin questioned before jumping in and answering for him. "Assuming nothing unusual happens, I'd say he can go back to the dojo in about a month."

In front of everyone, Isshin's face seemed to morph from a serious doctor to a young boy who had just come up with a plan that involved worms, insects, and girls. "Now, tell me why you haven't come to see me my daughter-in-law! Your Papa has missed you."

There was a stunned silence for a moment before a sickening crunch was heard as Tatsuki's foot connected with Isshin's neck in a flying round house kick and he was sent flying into the wall that Ken had been leaning against. He was now crawling away on the floor after he dropped to avoid the flying man. "Call me daughter-in-law again and I promise you that you won't live to see any of your children married! C'mon Ken, you're good to go. Let's leave before I put this old man in his grave."

XXX

Since it was so close, both he and Tatsuki headed for her house, one on crutches and the other steaming with rage and embarrassment.

Once Ken was seated on the couch, Tatsuki stood over him, _Very effective intimidation method_ Ken noted, and just stared at him, waiting for an explanation. "I don't suppose you could forget all of this ever happened, could you?" Ken tried.

"**Snowball's chance in Hell.** That's how the saying goes doesn't it." Tatsuki deadpanned. "Tell me everything that's going on. What was that thing? How did you move so fast? Where'd that sword come from and where is it? How the Hell did you make a car appear out of nowhere?!"

"Fine, I'll tell you. But I'll warn you now; this is going to sound insane." Ken relented. **"Sara's gonna be sooo pissed if she finds out."** he muttered to himself. "I'm a member of a group that calls itself the Tutores. Individually, we're Tutors. It's Latin for a protector, especially protectors of young children and women. The English word **tutor** comes from it. As for that creature, we call them Demons and fight against them. So far, we know that they like to eat ghosts or souls or whatever people like Mitsuo are. We don't know much about them, but they all have a hole and a white mask. How I moved so fast was thanks to these." He pointed to his feet where two anklets morphed into a pair of shoes, then boots, then sandals, and back to the anklets. "These are the Sandals of Peace, the same ones from the Bible. They can basically become any form of footwear I can think of and they strengthen my legs. Though, I'm still human. I nearly broke both of them at the end of the fight. The first time I used the Sandals, I shattered both legs. Moving that fast really hurts, so I don't really like doing it. I'm getting better at it though, now my legs just get sore now."

"Wait," Tatsuki interrupted, "so how did you make a car if those turn into shoes?"

Ken chuckled. "Aha, that's thanks to a loophole we found." he answered. "I say 'footwear' and you think of shoes, so the Sandals would be limited to shoes for you. But what if 'footwear' was defined as something you put foot into instead of something put on your foot? That would allow all sorts of vehicles because they fall under that definition. So I couldn't make a surfboard, but I might be able to make a snowboard because of the boots. Unfortunately, I still have to know how to operate whatever is made. That's the main thing that keeps me from making V-TOLs and X-Wings." Ken stopped and stared at Tatsuki. "You seem to be taking all of this in miraculous stride. I expected more doubt."

"I guess I'm still shell-shocked and the disbelief hasn't kicked in yet. Give it a minute. Besides, I knew Ichigo was involved with something. Maybe hearing this is giving me an idea about what he's doing. Also, your loophole seems extremely flimsy."

"Ichigo, he's your best friend, right? The one you've known since you were four? Also, don't push our logic too hard. We know it's a house of cards. But hey, if it works, it works. Damien has the Shield of Faith. One time, he created a thermodynamic impossibility when he made a heat sink that ignored Carnot's rule just so he could overclock his PC setup multiple times without any problems. As for my sword," Ken held his hand out and his katana phased into existence "it's right here."

The blade was held in a sheath the same pale blue as the wrapping. Now that it was close and she could take a closer look, Tatsuki saw the tassel was almost metallic silver and the bead looked like a blue opal. "Well, it certainly looks pretty, but where'd it come from?"

"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea." Ken answered as the katana faded back into nothingness. "When I was training to become a Tutor, it just kind of appeared in my mind, then in reality."

"Wait! Training? You weren't chosen by some greater power or magical artifact or something?" Tatsuki interrupted, her mind starting to form an idea.

"Not really. I mean, in order to wear the Sandals, I had to be deemed worthy by its Guardian. But materializing my weapon and armor? All it took was specialized training." Ken answered seeing a glint in her eyes.

"So, this specialized training, it's something anyone can do? And it lets you fight those monsters?" Tatsuki continued, her voice slightly betraying the hope and plan she was making.

Ken knew where she was going with this and knew he had to tread carefully. She reminded him a lot of himself before he joined the Tutores. She had an idea about what her friends were doing, but they were leaving her out of it and it sickened her. He had felt the same thing. "Not exactly. While it's true that anyone could materialize a weapon, only a few can. It's like the Olympics. Technically, anyone in the world could win a gold medal, but in order to actually win, you need some natural ability, some luck, and a lot of training. So the answer to your question is yes and no." he did his best to explain.

Tatsuki's face fell for a moment before hardening into a determined look. "Teach me anyway. I don't care how hard it is, I hate not being able to help Ichigo and Orihime. I'll do the training, just give me a chance." It came out more pleading than she wanted, but an opportunity to fight those creatures like the one who attacked Orihime had shown itself, and she wasn't going to let it go.

Ken exhaled and collected himself before answering. "First, let's see if you even could train. You're a martial artist, so I want you to try to concentrate and release as much of your ki as you can. This isn't the normal way to do it, but I have a knack for sensing kis, so let's see what you can do. I'd recommend that you meditate to do it."

Nodding, Tatsuki sat on the floor and focused inward. _Focus on my center. Feel the flow of ki__, mold it, and extend it outward._ **"Dammit."** She was brought out of her meditation at Ken's muttering and saw it had been five minutes. "What was that for?" She felt a cold chill run through her. "Can I not do it?" _NO! NOT WHEN I'M THIS CLOSE!_

"No, that's not it. In fact, it's the opposite. Maybe it's martial arts in general, but you're primed for training." He cut off Tatsuki before she could celebrate. "But…I've never been in a teaching role. Even so, you'll have to listen to everything I say. I'm not training you to win a national tournament. I'm going to be training you to fight monsters with supernatural abilities that will be doing their best to kill you. Understand?"

The weight of his words was able to counteract Tatsuki's elation, but she was still determined to go through with it. "I understand, Greyson-sensei."

Ken let out a small nervous laugh. "Don't do that. It sounds weird. You can still call me Ken, you just have to follow my instructions. Also, know that you will not be fighting Demons for a _very_ long time. I'm not going to let my first student die because she flew off the handle and got in over her head."

That hit her hard. Though, as she thought about it, she could understand why he would be reticent about letting her fight. But she was strong. She felt that she would be able to handle it. "Fine. I'll listen to you and follow you rules. I'll be in your care."

Seeing Tatsuki like this brought on a sense of deja-vu in Ken. This was nearly identical to how he got to be trained by Sara. Even his warning was paraphrased from what she had told him. _Oh I hope I'm doing the right thing. Please let this turn out right. _"Alright, help me home and we'll start Tutor training in the morning."


	3. Chapter 3

Hurray! Chapter 3! I won't apologize for the delay because my financial aid is riding on this semester.

This chapter is an exposition and explanation chapter. I apologize in advance for its dryness and hope it's easier to read than it was to write.

I want to say thanks to Fullmetal Wetback. I'm not writing this with reviews in mind, but it was a bit discouraging not getting any, so thank you for writing one.

I'd like to thank Sen22 for letting me use his sketch.

Japanese

**English**

_Thoughts_

* * *

The next day had Ken introducing himself to Tatsuki's dojo and sensei. His leg kept him on the sideline, but he was allowed to watch. Once the day's lessons were over, Tatsuki stayed behind giving the excuse that she wanted some more, individual training. As she was changing into her street clothes, Ken had said that they were going to focus on her ki before doing any combat training, her mind was spinning. She had a connection to the secret world that Ichigo decided she wasn't worth being let in on! _That idiot! He should know that he can trust me with his problems._

Once changed, she found Ken sitting in the middle of the dojo waiting for her. "This kind of training tends to work best at a place that helps the practitioner focus. I'm assuming you don't have a problem with here? Or is there someplace that would work better?" he questioned.

Looking around, Tatsuki shook her head. "No, this is probably the best place in town to get me to focus. Unless you count tests at school, but I don't think they'll let us in during the summer."

At this, Ken chuckled. "I guess not. Alright then, let's get started."

"Hold on." Tatsuki interrupted. "Before that, something's been bugging me since you fought that monster. From the way you talked and moved, it seemed like you knew what it was going to do before it did. Are you an ESPer or something? How could you know the future?"

"Oh, that. No, I don't have ESP. If everything goes right, meaning I can be a competent teacher and you can understand what I'm trying to teach you, you'll be able to do it too." He put a hand to his chin and seemed to make a decision. "I'll show you the theory behind it right now, in fact. Come here. With my leg the way it is, I still can't walk on it much." Ken said as he hobbled up to a standing position. When she stopped in front of him, Ken continued. "Alright, what I'm going to be training you in is both the ability to see the flow of ki as well as predicting where that flow ki will be."

Tatsuki cocked her head to one side. "I'm not sure I follow."

"That's fine. I'll show you a physical analog, one that you'll understand easily." With that, he balled his left hand into a fist and drew it back before throwing a jab at Tatsuki's face.

"WOAH! WHAT THE HELL?! What was that for?" Tatsuki yelled as she dodged out of the way. When she turned, Ken was just standing there watching her.

"How did you know what I was going to do?" he calmly asked as if the previous seconds had never happened.

"What do you mean 'how'? You tried to sucker punch me in the face! Even an idiot would have seen that coming! What does this have to do with anything, anyway?" Tatsuki demanded.

"I told you that I'd show you the theory behind my 'ESP', didn't I? You took the knowledge you've gained from fighting, specifically how the body moves, and combined it with what you saw to guess what I was probably going to do and reacted accordingly. There's a reason we're starting with building your ability to sense ki. What you just did with your eyes, I can do by sensing how my opponent's ki flows. The reason that I'm able to know what they're going to do is that ki flows through the body like water flows down a hill. While it's possible for it to change course and there is always some variation on the exact path, for the most part, there are only a few ways it can reach the bottom. Just like I had many different potential targets with my punch, there are only so many ways for the body to throw a jab. Being able to read the flow of ki accurately is helpful because, conscious or not, every movement a person makes starts in their center. This will let me fight blind if I have to and also make it very hard to hit me with a sneak attack. Though what you saw was the first field test of this ability. I've been working on the theory for a while now; the fight proved that the foundation is solid, but I still have a way to go before I can use it naturally. I had to focus so much on the Demon that I didn't even notice you until you called out. However, I'm convinced that once this skill is mastered, there is nothing an opponent can do to surprise you, because you'll know what they're doing the instant they start to move, even if they move on reflex or you can't see them move with your eyes. It's exciting." he continued animatedly. "I'm actually developing a new fighting style. I don't know what this ability's upper tier skills will be. This is mostly theory, but at a high enough level, it might be possible to tell when someone twitches a finger or even blink an instant before it happens or you could gain a 'field' or 'area of influence' where you knew everything that any living creature was doing while in it." Ken explained.

As he finished, Tatsuki thought about whether it was even possible to do something like that. _Well, it does make some sense. Sensei does talk abo__ut focusing ki into our strikes, so if that's possible, there's no reason to doubt that someone can read that flow. Besides, I saw him do it right in front of my eyes, though I still couldn't quite see what he was fighting._ "I think I understand what you're trying to do. Alright, let's start."

"Great, we're going to start by just getting you to sense a change in ki, then move on to distinguishing individuals." Ken said as he moved and sat down in a meditation stance. "Now, to start with, put your hands behind your back and make a number with them." Tatsuki was confused and had no idea where this was going, but she did it anyway. "Three, your left index, middle, and ring fingers" Ken said.

"How did you know that?" Tatsuki asked bewildered.

Ken gave her a look. "We just went over this." Ken said in exasperation. "I can read your ki flow. Your ki itself is actually pretty decent and just needs some polishing and honing. That probably comes from equal parts natural ability and your martial arts training. Once you can do what I just did easily, we'll work on materializing your weapon and armor, then, depending on what you materialize, we'll move on to actual combat training. I hope you realize that this won't be something you learn overnight. It's going to take a while. At the very least, a few months, and that's assuming that you understand and can do everything I'm showing you very quickly."

Tatsuki took a deep breath to steady herself before opening her eyes with a look of fierce determination in them. "Okay, what do I need to do first?" she asked as she sat down across from Ken.

"We'll start simple. I'm going to project my ki and change my presence in the room. Your job will be to sense the change that happens when I do." he replied.

"Uh, alright then." Tatsuki still wasn't sure what exactly how she was supposed to do that, so she started with meditation. _That's how it always works in manga. The hero meditates and everything falls into place, right?_ She knew where Ken was sitting, so she focused on that spot and tried to feel something come from it, anything. Nothing. There was no change, no sudden revelation.

She was ready to speak up after just sitting there for nearly thirty minutes when Ken interrupted her. "Right now, the change will barely be noticeable, something as insignificant as the humidity changing or a very, very light breeze. It's not something that will knock you over. That will happen later. It's a bit of a paradox, really. The more sensitive and skilled you are at sensing kis, the easier it is to be overwhelmed."

_Thanks for telling me before __this started. _Tatsuki mentally grumbled. At least now she had an idea of what to look out for. Even so, she still didn't feel much. She focused harder, less on where she knew Ken was and more on an invisible layer that was right against her body. Time kept passing and nothing seemed to change until, _THERE! _She felt something! As she kept her focus on the layer, she felt it again. "I think I feel it. It's like something giant keeps breathing on me. There, there…there"

"Really? That was fast." she heard a breathless voice say. When Tatsuki opened her eyes, she saw that it was late afternoon and Ken was breathing like he had just sprinted a mile. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, concerned for her friend.

"Eh, oh, I'm fine." Ken said waving his hand with his head between his knees. "It's just tiring to have to constantly project my ki for hours. I rarely do anything like this. A little rest and I'll be good as new." he said while taking deep breaths. "To be honest, I don't think I've ever used this much ki so fast before. I can't wait until you get good enough for me start suppressing it. Being drained like this sucks."

Tatsuki hesitated a little before replying. "Okay then, if you're sure you're alright. What should we do now?"

"Now?" Ken asked with a small grin and a slight chuckle as his breathing began to slow. "Now we rest. Or I rest and you tell me what you just did."

They both got up and headed over to the wall where they had left their stuff before starting. When they got there, Ken sat down and began drinking from a water bottle he had brought with him. "So, what did you do?" he asked after taking a drink.

"Well, at first, I tried to focus on where I knew you were, but that didn't get me anywhere. After you said that thing about how the change would be barely noticeable, though, I focused on a layer directly on my skin. After a while, I felt like something was breathing on me and guessed that was what you were talking about." Tatsuki answered recounting her basic thought process.

"Hmm." Ken said, with his face in thought. He looked next to him where the setting sun was shining in through a window onto the wall and put his hand in the light's path. "It's not a bad start, but we're going to have to change the way you sense kis. What you did is like trying to find the sun with your eyes closed. The exercise we just did is like finding light in a room with lots of big, open windows because I was the only one nearby and was trying to get you to recognize me. When we get into a fight, the 'windows' get very small and very dirty." Ken rotated and flexed his hand like he was playing with the light rays. "Just like how you can feel the heat from the sun on your skin, right now you are just feeling my ki push on yours. You know that I'm there, but you can't tell where. I'm going to get you to be able to open your 'spirit eyes' so you can see where a person's presence is and where it isn't. Just to beat the light analogy into the ground, it will be like being able to see light and shadow. You'll not only know if a person is near you, but you'll be able to follow their ki and know where they are just like you can follow a light beam to its source." As he let his hand drop, Ken worked his way up to a standing position. "I say we call it a day. Honestly, you picked up on this much faster than I expected."*

Tatsuki swelled a little with pride at the fact that she had picked up the lesson so quickly. She hoped that all of Ken's lessons would pass just as quickly, but knew that was most likely not the case. If anything, it would only get harder as time went on. She was mulling over what sort of training the future held for her as they came to a crossroads. "Are you sure you don't need any help getting home? Your leg can't be in any shape to walk." she asked while looking over to Ken.

Leaning on one of his crutches, he waved off her concern. "It's fine. All of the pieces of the Armor give us better resistance to sickness and injury than normal humans and we heal faster, though some pieces work better than others.** The Sandals heal leg wounds especially well. See, yesterday I couldn't put any pressure on it; now I can hobble around." Facing down Tatsuki's stare, he continued. "I'll be okay, really. Even with one good leg, I can handle myself." With that, he turned around and began walking.

Tatsuki was torn as she watched him go. A part of her, her protective streak, wanted to ignore everything he had said and walk him home anyway. However, the majority of herself was well acquainted with both pride and stubbornness; enough that she knew how it would end if she did follow him. Trying to keep an eye on him from the shadows was out too; he had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt earlier before they started her training. He was also probably right in that he could handle himself. Those Sandals must have more abilities than what she had seen. Sighing in resignation, she began walking back to her own home.

As she went, Ken also sighed, his in relief. **"She's actually letting me go. I didn't think she would. Well then, let's go find out who our unwelcome gue****st was."** Tapping into the Sandals' power, he floated about an inch off the ground, put the crutches under his arm, and headed in the direction of the ki that had been hiding outside the dojo.

XXX

Across town, two men were sitting in a small back room of a small general store. The larger of the two was relating everything that he had seen and heard while outside the dojo.

"All he did was flare his reiatsu for a few hours while she tried to sense it. I've never heard of any form of training that's even close to this, Boss" Tessai concluded. "It doesn't seem very effective."

"Compared to what the Academy does, it's amazingly effective."*** Kisuke replied. "They don't have any form of organized sensory training. It's just something that the students learn how to do by being around so many different people. The more experience they gain, the sharper the ability becomes, but if he can do what he claims, his senses would be so sharp that it would be like comparing a zanpakuto to a boulder. The simple fact that he can teach someone how to sense reiatsu at all tells me that he will succeed. My only complaint would be the efficiency of his methods." _I__ bet I could come up with a better method. F__ile that under 'Future Projects'._ "By the way, how strong was his reiatsu?" he questioned.

"At its peak, the boy's reiatsu is comparable to a mid-level Lieutenant, but it only got to that level a few times. I would put him somewhere among the top five seated officers."

"This keeps getting more and more interesting." Kisuke mumbled. "He only has the strength of a seated officer, but he faces down Hollows with the confidence and ease of a Captain. Even the way he purified it was done with a skill that some Lieutenants don't show. The way he avoided its attacks made it seem that he could barely keep up. But when he was distracted and injured, he didn't panic. He stayed calm and dispatched it in an instant. He was toying with the Hollow the whole time. He also has shown an astounding control over his reiatsu."

After a pause, Tessai asked, "So what should we do?"

"How about y'all start by explaining why you're following me?" a voiced asked from outside a closed window.

Tessai tensed up while Kisuke got up and opened the window to reveal Ken leaning against the outside wall. "I'm terribly sorry, but we're closed for the night. You're welcome to come back tomorrow." he said jovially behind his fan.

"I'm not here to shop; I'm here for answers." Ken deadpanned. His first impression of the shopkeeper was not flattering. Still, the man had a huge reserve of ki and was showing a level of control that rivaled his own, quite a feat considering Ken had just a fraction the reserves. "Your friend was hiding outside the dojo and both of you were just talking about me and Tatsuki. You were also there when I killed that toad Demon, hiding in the woods. I want to know why."

"Aha! See Tessai-san, I told you he knew we were there!" Kisuke exclaimed while flashing a Victory toward the large man, who sweat dropped. Turning back to the window, he closed his fan. "Very well, then. I will answer what I can, but in return, you have to answer some of my questions."

Eventually, Ken was seated at the table across from the exiled Captains. "So, first question: who are you?" he asked.

"Me? I'm just a lowly-but-handsome merchant of a small time candy store." Urahara answered behind his fan again.

"Right…and my grandpa was best friends with the Emperor during World War II. Who are you really?" Ken repeated. He wasn't in the mood to play around. These people were following him and his first thought was that they might be after the Sword also. Based on the amount of ki he could sense from both, he doubted he could win a fight, even if he was completely healed. He had to be very careful about how much information he gave out. "You were both just talking about my reiatsu, which I'm assuming is the same thing as ki, and you both have enormous reserves from what I can tell. Don't even try to deny that you don't know what I'm talking about."

Kisuke closed his fan and raised his head so he and Ken could see eye-to-eye with a serious look on his face. "Are you sure you wanna know? For all you know, we could be eldritch abominations that can drive you insane with a whisper. Do you really want to risk your entire being over something as trivial as curiosity?" _This kid's interesting. So, let's see just how determined you __are._

Ken was set back a little at the question, but recovered and steeled himself. "I'm sure; tell me."

_Not bad. _"Okay. Well then…"

"Kennith Greyson. I go by Ken"

"Greyson-san, do you believe in the afterlife?"

XXX

Ken wasn't quite sure how to respond. For one thing, he was staring at proof that there was an afterlife, though nothing like what he had been taught. Then there was the fact that not only was he in the presence of _two_ Grim Reapers, they both apparently were among the most powerful out of an entire army.

Kisuke cocked his head a little looking at Ken. "I was only joking about losing your sanity. I didn't actually think it would happen."

That was able to snap Ken out of his stupor. "No, no, I'm okay. It's just a lot to take in." He suddenly chuckled. "I kinda want to take you to my friend's Southern Baptist church and tell them what you just told me, just to see their reaction." Seeing Kisuke's confused face, he waved it off. "Never mind. So, what exactly do you want from me?"

"I appreciate you not trying to back out of our deal, Greyson-san." Urahara quipped. "You asked who I am. I won't ask the same, but I do wonder why you're here. I highly doubt that you came to Japan for a change of scenery."

_Damn._ That was the one question that Ken didn't want to answer. Even if the shopkeeper had been remarkably straightforward about who he was, he was still cautious. "I'm…searching for something. This is the last place I located it. I'm looking for signs of it right now."

"Now now, I told you what you wanted. What is this thing you're looking for?" Urahara interrupted; his face behind his fan again.

"I'm sorry" Ken replied "but that's something that I can't tell you."

"And why not?"  
_Good question. Man this Captain is sharp. Wait, Captain? _"Hold on, if you're one of these Captains that you told me about, why are you here? I thought Captains were supposed to lead their own squads. I see two people here."

In response, Urahara snapped his fan closed and had a smirk creep onto his face. "Oh, very clever! Even Ishida-san hasn't even asked me that, and he's probably has the best eye for details out of Kurosaki-san's friends." he said with a grin.

Hearing that name, Ken perked up. "Kurosaki? Are you talking about Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Yes. How do you know him?"

"I only know the name. The girl you were talking about earlier, she's his best friend. I'm teaching her how to sense ki…reiatsu. Eventually, Tatsuki will be able to fight **Dem**…Hollows. I'm just going to use my terms, if you don't mind."

"Ohh? 'Tatsuki' huh? And no suffix?" Urahara said with a fox grin. "You must be _very_ close to her. I'd be careful if I were you; Kurosaki-san tends to be very protective over his friends."

"What? No!" Ken exclaimed shaking his head and waving his arms. "I'm just American. We call people by their first names and don't use suffixes."

"If you say so. It makes no difference to me." Kisuke replied. "Well, if you have no more questions, I believe we are done here." As Ken was trying to get up, he was interrupted by Kisuke. "Oh, one more question."

"What is it?" Ken asked with caution.

"Would you like us to heal that?" Kisuke asked innocently while pointed at Ken's leg.

"Really? Sure." Ken answered. "Wait! What would it cost me if you did?" he quickly backpedaled.

"Why nothing. What would make you think that you would owe me anything?" Urahara asked feigning hurt.

"Because you said you were a businessman. Isn't it bad business to give services away for free?"

The shopkeeper chuckled. "The mind of a foreigner is fascinating. You are very shrewd but a bit lacking in trust; you know that?" he questioned. "I guess you're right." he sighed. "There is something I want. I'm interested in your teaching methods. We'll heal your leg if you let us watch over your lessons."

"And how am I supposed to explain why two strange men suddenly decided to sit in on our training to Tatsuki?" Ken asked.

"That's for you to decide. I am a man of science and I've never met anyone with your skill level." Urahara answered.

After thinking for a while, Ken had an idea. "How about this: you can watch our training in hiding. I'm trying to get Tatsuki to be able to detect ki, so you can be a kind of secret test. When she's able to tell that you're spying on us, I'll say she's ready to move on to the next lesson."

Kisuke was quiet for a moment before he began clapping softly. "Very clever. I couldn't come up with a better plan myself. I think you and I are going to get along very well, Ken-san. Now, let's heal your leg. Tessai-san."

Right, Boss." the large man answered as he began conducting his healing kido.

XXX

As Ken walked away, Kisuke and Tessai watched him go. "What are you going to do here, and how is it going to change our plans?" Kisuke wondered aloud.

"Boss, did you see his…?" Tessai asked.

"Yes, I did." he answered.

"What do you think it means?"

"I don't know. It's just one more mystery that our friend hides." Urahara finished as he watched Ken leave, a green ribbon composed of his reiraku extending from his body. "One that we will find out in time."

XXX

"**Wow, I'm surprised at how fa****st they were able to heal me." **Ken said to himself as he walked back to his apartment. _When Tatsuki finds out we're being spied on, I am _not _helping them. Actually, I'll probably be running. There's no way that she'll believe that I didn't notice them._ As he was lost in his thoughts, Ken suddenly froze mid-step. **"The Sword!" **It was sudden, but he definitely felt a flare of energy. It felt a little different from what he sensed in America, but it was very similar to the other pieces of Armor. He felt another flare and realization struck him. **"Shit! Please don't be happening. Please tell me I'm wrong."** he begged. His pleads went unanswered as he felt the energy flare a final time and then disappear. **"This is bad. This is really bad. How am I going to explain this to the others? 'Good news: The Sword is in Japan. Bad news: Someone else has already found and claimed it.'" **

* * *

And that's the third chapter. It was more tedious than difficult to write (especially the dojo scene), but I felt it was necessary. I'd like to know what people think of it so far.

If Urahara seemed out of character by giving so much information freely and directly, he is genuinely curious about what Ken is exactly. Like he told Tessai, he's never seen someone with such a small amount of Spiritual Pressure act so confident. The answer isn't really a big secret; Ken and the Tutores in general just have a different combat philosophy from the Seireitei, so they prioritized skills differently.

Explanations:

*When Ken uses his ability, instead of seeing colored blobs of reiatsu like apparently everyone in the Bleach universe sees, he sees what is basically a wireframe skeleton that anyone who works in 3D modeling use, but it's hard to explain to someone who hasn't seen it (like trying to explain a color to a blind person) because of the way reiatsu is emitted. Since these frames are just the flow of a person's reiatsu, they have a unique color and "feeling" associated with them, just like in the series. I guess the best analog would be how a Hyuuga sees a person's chakra network in Naruto, though that wasn't the inspiration for this. I'm basing Ken's abilities off of Claire and Teresa from Claymore. As Tatsuki gets better at being able to sense reiatsu, he will explain the process to her in more detail, probably off-script because it is extremely tedious to write.

**Every piece of the Armor of God has unique powers, but they all allow their wearer to heal faster than normal in addition to making them immune to disease, illness, poison (I'm still deciding on whether or not this includes Kurotsuchi's zanpakuto), etc. as well as making them tougher in general. Some just do it better than others.  
Even though every piece can be wielded by humans, they were originally created by and for a long forgotten deity. As such, some are more dangerous to use than others.  
For example, the Sandals grant near teleportation speed. The Tutores have done projections (read: Yerik spent several weeks working with multiple very high level physics models) and, assuming a person could survive, (which they can't, a human with the full set of the Armor could survive up to maybe 85% max speed, but they'd be hospitalized for months at best. Someone with Deadpool or Alucard level regeneration and plucky-shonen-hero-protagonist level durability _might_ be able to handle max speed, but even then, they'd need all the Armor) the maximum speed would cause mass temporal distortions and cause the wielder to break through space-time. The Sword will destroy the wielder's body if its full potential is used, and the Helmet will break the wielder's mind due to its ability. The other pieces can be used to their full potential by mortals, though.

In terms of latent/passive healing ability, the order of effectiveness from least to greatest is: Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith, Sandals of Peace, Breastplate of Righteousness, Helmet of Salvation, Belt of Truth  
For resilience, it's Sandals of Peace, Belt of Truth, Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation, Breastplate of Righteousness

I'll explain the other Armors' actual powers in more detail when the rest of the Tutores show up, but that won't happen until after the Winter War ends and Aizen's dealt with. It's already planned, but I'm not revealing anything.

***Maybe the Shinigami Academy does have a course in detecting reiatsu, but Kubo hasn't said anything about it, and it seems like the kind of thing that Soul Society wouldn't bother teaching if it was able to be learned unconsciously.


	4. Chapter 4

A few notes before I start this chapter.

First, I realized that I had an absolutely massive plot hole forming because I forgot to put a scene in the first chapter, so that's fixed now.

Second, I took out the confession at the airport because it was rushed and very poorly written. Besides, I came up with a better way to fit that in later.

Third, apparently the quincy don't have blue spirit ribbons like I thought. I'm changing that. Shinigami have red spirit ribbons, quincy have blue, and normal humans have white.

I don't own Bleach. I do own my OCs.

Thanks to Sen22 for letting me use his sketch.

* * *

"Not bad Tatsuki. You're doing pretty well considering we've only been at this for a week." Ken praised as he continued to walk around the dojo. A blindfolded Tatsuki stood in the center and was constantly turning to face him. Once Tatsuki was able to consistently feel Ken's ki, he came up with this idea to help her learn how to follow said energy. "I'd say that you have determining location down pretty well. Next we'll work on finding and keeping distance. Can you tell how far away I am from you?" he asked.

The blindfolded girl focused and was silent for a moment as she worked out how far away the two teens were. "More or less, yeah."

"Good. Keep that distance." Ken said as he took a step forward and watched as Tatsuki took a step back.

Ken would take a step in a random direction and wait for Tatsuki to do move in the opposite direction. This continued in silence until Ken noticed something with Tatsuki's movements and took a very large step forward. Tatsuki responded by backing into the wall, hard. "Ow! You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she asked as she took off the blindfold and rubbed the back of her head that was beginning to swell.

"Got it in one." Ken admitted without missing a beat while he put his hands in his pockets. "Now, tell me why."

"Because you're sadistic." she answered. Ken responded by chuckling and shrugging his shoulders before he continued to look at her. "Was it to teach me a lesson?" Ken nodded in response. "Is it a lesson you could have just told me instead of slamming my head into a wall?" Another nod. "You know it's really annoying when you do this, right?" That earned her a smirk.

"I feel that it's easier to do this than have to constantly correct someone. After all, you're more likely to remember it if you figure it out yourself."

Tatsuki bit back her retort. While it was annoying, she couldn't deny the effectiveness of Ken's methods. "Can't you at least give me a hint?" she asked

"Why did you hit the wall in the first place?" Ken asked.

"Because didn't know it was there." Tatsuki answered.

"Why?"

"I was blindfolded. I couldn't see!"

"You didn't seem to have any trouble knowing where I was blindfolded." Ken stated.

"Of course I could! I was focused…on…you… You did that to tell me that I shouldn't concentrate so hard on one thing. I need to be able to focus on my goal and where I am at the same time, right?" she said more than asked.

"A little more philosophical than my answer, but yes, that's the idea. Being able to know where I am and what I'm doing won't do you much good if you can't move to take advantage of it. I'm sure your sensei has beaten situational awareness into your head. Do that, just without your eyes." Ken explained. "Let's start at the beginning. Focus on your surroundings, then locate any strong kis within that area."

_Strange way to phrase that, but okay._ Tatsuki thought while she put the blindfold back on. As she focused, she made a point to keep the dojo itself in her mind and push back the headache that was coming on before reaching out to find Ken. She'd spent years in these walls. She knew its layout even when blindfolded. As she let her senses expand, she immediately found Ken. "Okay, let's go again."

XXX

"Do you mind if we stop? I'm getting hungry." Ken asked. The two had spent close to two hours getting Tatsuki used to matching Ken's movement. She was getting the hang of it very quickly, which wasn't all that surprising. The way Ken viewed it, the hardest part was being able to sense ki in the first place and then reading its movement in detail. It's not hard to stay away from a mass of energy once you know it's there. _I just wish she would expand her senses__ farther. I kept trying to push her towards where the shopkeeper was hiding, but she never said an__y__thing._

"Sure. I know a good place near here." the raven haired girl replied. All in all, she was feeling pretty good. She still didn't know why Ichigo was running around in that black shihaksho, or where he and his friends were right now, but she knew she'd find out eventually. Hopefully when they came back. In the meantime, she would keep working with Ken. She would admit that she'd been skeptical at first, but there was definitely _something_ that she was feeling that was coming from Ken. What Ken didn't know was that she had been trying sense the kis of other people in her class before she stayed behind to train with him. So far, the only one she was able to easily notice belonged to her sensei. Go figure.

As they headed toward the family restaurant, Tatsuki realized something. "Hey Ken, you know that summer vacation is almost over, right? Are you going to go to school?" she asked.

The boy chuckled. "I asked that same question to my parents before I came here. They said if I didn't, they would make up a curriculum just for me when I came back. I'll take my chances in a school where no one speaks my native language."

"So you're gonna not only be an exchange student, but a _foreign_ exchange student who's coming in halfway through the year? Good luck…" Tatsuki said as she thought back on how Rukia was treated when she showed up. At least she looked Japanese. She still remembered when Chad had first shown up. They weren't in the same class, but it didn't matter. By lunch, the entire school knew about the tan giant. "…you're gonna need it."

"What do you mean 'halfway'– Oh! That's right. School starts in the spring here. America starts in the fall."

"Really? That's strange. Here's the place." Tatsuki turned to see that Ken had stopped and was staring into the distance. "Something wrong?" she asked.

Ken had a hand to his chin and looked like he was lost in thought. **"It's still early, but…" **he muttered to himself. He suddenly clapped his hand, startling Tatsuki. "Okay, I planned to do this later, but pop quiz! Follow me." he said while turning and began jogging toward where he had been staring.

"Huh? Hey, wait!" Tatsuki called after him as she ran to catch up. "I thought you were hungry"

"Focus, Tatsuki." Ken said ignoring her statement. "First question: where are we going?"

"How should I know? You're the one who decided to run off in a random direction." she exclaimed. As she glanced down, she noticed that Ken's left hand was twitching, like he was repeatedly tightening and loosening his grip. His body language was different too. Ken seemed tenser, and he kept glancing around, like he was scanning the area. _It's like he's ready for a fight. Wait…_ "It's a Demon, isn't it? We're going to fight a Demon." she stated.

"Close." Ken replied. "_I'm_ going to fight a Demon. _You're_ going to watch. If you tried to fight now, with or without me, you would just get in the way and get killed. Don't talk back!" he barked before Tatsuki could protest. "I know you're strong. I'm not going to treat you like a kid. When you're ready, you'll fight. Until then, do what I say. I was going to have you watch some fights anyway so you can get used to how a Demon's ki feels. Right now when you sense ki, it's like looking at a bonfire, right?" When Tatsuki nodded, he continued. "Okay, while I fight, try to change it from a bonfire to what the Demon actually looks like. I'll drag the fight out to give you some more time. If you feel up to it, try to do the same with me as well." He stopped running and looked at Tatsuki. "Now, see if you can tell where the Demon is. It just appeared on this side."

Tatsuki felt a little bitter about what he had just said, but she knew he was right. She had no way to fight back against these things yet. As she expanded her senses, she noticed that it was getting easier to find ki. True, the one person she had been practicing with was standing right there, but the shape of his ki seemed sharper. Reaching farther out, she suppressed a shiver. _That must be it. It feels dark._ "I have an idea where it is. Do all Demons feel like that?" she asked.

"No, not all of them." Ken muttered as he rubbed his left shoulder. "Some are worse. Let's go."

While Tatsuki didn't like to admit it, she got scared. She was scared when he started karate. She had been scared when she found out about Masaki's death. She was scared for Orihime's safety right now. Currently, she was crouched in some bushes watching Ken fight a cross between a gecko and a scorpion, and she was terrified. The monster's ki felt like it had a mind of its own and was constantly trying to reach out and tear her limb from limb. She had to fight to keep the feeling of being swallowed at bay. As she kept watching Ken flit around the Demon's tail and claws and make small cuts that did nothing but enrage the creature, fear's deadlier sibling, doubt, began to worm its way into her mind. _I wanted to fight _that?!_ I'm just watching and can barely keep co__n__trol. How am I supposed to actually fig__ht back? I couldn't. If I went against one of those, it'd be suicide._

Her spiral into hysteria was stopped short when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She also noticed that the Demon's ki didn't seem nearly as bad as before. Turning, she saw a blond man wearing a full length black cloak and leaning on a cane next to her. "I do not approve of Greyson-san's teaching method in this instance, but you have come too far already to turn back now, Arisawa-san." he said in a calm voice that demanded the listener pay attention with a serious expression. "Do not doubt that I will discuss this foolishness with him. There is a time and place for something like this and you were not ready."

While he was saying this, Tatsuki was silent. This man seemed familiar. She felt that she'd seen him before. A spike of pain shot through her head and sent her to the ground with a cry of pain. Her worst headache didn't hold a candle to this. As she was clawing at her head, flashes and fragments of memories began to flood into her mind.

She saw herself in Orihime's house when a bear fell over and Orihime was thrown across the room before she lost consciousness. There was the night of that weird Don Kanonji show. She'd heard something like a roar; Orihime asked if she'd heard it too. The man next to her was being questioned by the police before he pulled something out and there was a bright flash. Then there was that day after school where Orihime had insisted that they leave. As the memory of that day came back, she began shaking uncontrollably. _That was a Demon. Or__i__hime knew it was there and was trying to save us. Oh God! I fought it! It took control of me and I attacked her._

As this was happening, Tatsuki's reiatsu was going crazy. _Something's wrong._ Ken thought as he ducked under a claw. Seeing an opening, he dashed up and cut the Demon's head off before running toward Tatsuki. Getting closer, he saw a cloaked figure standing next to her. "Hey! What are you doing?" he shouted. The figure raised an arm at him. "Bakudō 61: Rikujōkōrō." (Six Rod Light Prison) Ken felt the buildup of ki and tried to avoid whatever was coming at him. He almost got away. As he ducked and tried to dodge, six beams of light caught his wrist. His body froze in an instant. He watched as the figure removed its hood and saw Urahara staring at him. His eyes held no emotion, like he was looking over a data set. "It seems I have misjudged you, Greyson-san." he said, his voice as cold and distant as his eyes. "I believed you to be smarter than to throw innocent lives in the path of something they could not defend against. I am greatly displeased." As he was speaking, he began to walk towards the boy and stopped in front of him. Because of the way Ken had tried to avoid the kido, his head barely came up to the man's knees. The result was that Urahara looked much taller, and much more menacing, than he normally did. "I would stop Arisawa-san's training right now, but she is too aware to stop now. If any Hollow appeared, she would be the first target. I will let you continue her training, but now it will be under my supervision. Bring her to my store. Several of her repressed memories have been forcibly recovered. Her mind is in a delicate state right now." With a wave of his hand, the binding around Ken's wrist shattered and he dropped unceremoniously to the ground. The shopkeeper stopped on his way back and turned around. "If there is one thing that impressed me here, it is your speed, Greyson-san. I doubt even Yoruichi could have gotten so close to avoiding my kido. Between that and your sensory ability, you could become a very powerful ally. Unfortunately, you have lost my trust, and that is not something that is easy to reclaim." With that, he turned and walked away. Ken was shaken. He knew that he could have been killed then and there. He knew the shopkeeper was powerful; now he had seen a glimpse of that power.

Picking himself up, he walked over to Tatsuki. She had calmed down. Well, technically, she was unconscious, but at least she wasn't shaking uncontrollably and her ki appeared stable. **"I'm sorry for what happened here."** Ken said as he picked Tatsuki up onto his back and began heading to the man's shop, though he wasn't sure if it was said for his own good or hers.** "This was my fault, but I know you can pull through this. And when you do, holy crap, are you going to be strong."**

XXX

When Tatsuki regained consciousness, she wished she hadn't. Her head felt like it was about to split in half. Opening her eyes didn't help. Looking around, she didn't recognize where she was. She heard a sound outside the door and turned to see Ken look in. "Hey. You're up." he said quietly.

Tatsuki tried to sit up, but the wave if nausea kept her from doing much more than lifting her head. Instead, she scanned the room she was in and fought off the slight dizziness that came in response. It was sparse. There was the futon she was in, a closet on the far wall, and a small table in the corner. As her eyes darted around, recent memories returned, and she started to dry heave. "Whoa! Easy!" Ken said as he hurried over.

When he got to Tatsuki, he handed her a plastic bucket or pail or trash can, it didn't really matter to her at the moment, and helped her into a sitting position. "How long have I been out?" she asked once her stomach was back under her control.

"Depends on how you want to count it. I've emptied that trash can twice already, and you've been out both times by the time I got back. It's been a little over..." he checked his watch "two hours since you blacked out in the park. What happened to you? One minute you're fine and then your ki is going out of control and then you pass out."

"I can answer that if Arisawa-san feels well enough to hold a conversation."

The two turned and saw Urahara standing in the doorway. "You!" Tatsuki hissed before nausea caught up to her again. She fought it down. "You're the one who always shows up whenever something weird happened around Ichigo!"

"I see that your memories have returned." Urahara said before turning to Ken. "Soul Society protocol is to erase the memory of anyone who sees a shinigami, Hollow, or fight between the two. Arisawa-san has seen one such event and been present and involved in another two. It seems to me that her training under you increased her spiritual power to the point that she could break through the false memories that were planted and seeing me again was the catalyst that allowed her to forcibly resurface her true memories." he said answering Ken's unspoken question.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Tatsuki growled. "I've seen you around, but I have no idea who you are; start talking." she demanded.

Urahara had an amused expression on his face as he moved the table over to her and sat down. Ken followed his example and helped Tatsuki brace herself against it before sitting down himself so all three of them were facing one another. "Very well, ask your questions, Arisawa-san. I will answer those that I can." the shopkeeper said.

Tatsuki tried to think about what to ask, but currently it felt like someone was alternating between hitting her head with a cleaver and a hammer, so she went with the easiest one first. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Of course that would be your first question." Urahara said. "I am Urahara Kisuke. You are currently in my candy store. I help local shinigami by selling various items, but the answer I believe you are most interested in is I am the one who trained Ichigo before he went to rescue Kuchiki Rukia."

"YOU WHAT!?" Tatsuki shouted. "So you know where Ichigo and Orihime are. Tell me!"

She looked like she was getting ready to go on a full-blown tirade, so Ken put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "Easy Tatsuki. Before you let your mouth run away from your head, let's get the information first."

Tatsuki looked at him before taking a few deep breaths. "You're right." The fact that her head was still pounding had no influence whatsoever in her decision to talk quieter. Nope, none whatsoever. She turned her attention back to the shopkeeper. "I'm sorry for how I reacted. Since you trained him, I assume you know where he is right now, correct?" she asked.

"I do." the man replied. "Ichigo and his friends whom I assume you know left several days ago and travelled to Soul Society in order to rescue Kuchiki-san, as I said earlier."

"Why did this Kuchiki person need to be rescued?" Ken asked.

Urahara was quiet a moment before answering. "She broke one of the Gotei's oldest laws and shared her power with a human. She knew the consequences of doing such an act, but something Ichigo said must have gotten to her."

"So Rukia's not human?" Tatsuki asked, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Correct. She is a shinigami under the command of Captain Ukitake in Squad 13."

"And by giving Ichigo her powers…" Ken started.

"…she made him into some sort of pseudo-shinigami." Tatsuki finished. "That explains the weird outfit and giant sword I saw him running around in sometimes." Her head jerked up suddenly and she ask quietly, "You said that by giving Ichigo her power, Rukia broke a law and that Ichigo left to rescue her. What exactly is the punishment for breaking that law?"

Urahara lowered the lip of his hat past his eyes. "Death by execution."

The room was silent for a moment before Tatsuki sighed. "And since he was the one she gave her power to, Ichigo felt responsible for her and is probably going to tear the place apart in order to get her back. That idiot; he'll go to Hell and back for his friends, but he always puts too much pressure on himself and feels that everything that goes wrong is his fault."

"I don't think you fully comprehend who he is up against." Urahara said darkly.

"Maybe we don't." Ken interjected. "But I know you, and given how you reacted to me bringing Tatsuki with me just to watch my fight against that Demon, I refuse to believe that you would send someone to the frontline if he couldn't handle himself."

At the mention of a demon, Urahara stiffened, his reiatsu flared a little, and it felt like the temperature dropped by several degrees in an instant. "What you fought was a Hollow, not a Demon. It would be in your best interest to never confuse the two again. The last person who saw an actual Demon is the Captain Commander, and he was very, very young when he did."

Both Tatsuki and Ken shuddered as the force of his words hit them. Ken knew how powerful the man across from him was, and he was being dead serious. The Tutores called the monsters Demons because that's what they decided on, Whatever Demons Urahara was talking about were in another league entirely.

Tatsuki still wasn't as skilled at sensing ki as Ken, bu she could get a general idea of how strong someone was. This man who kept popping up on memories was strong. Even if she couldn't sense anything, he trained Ichigo. She knew that her friend wouldn't let anyone do that unless they were stronger or more skilled than he was.

Silence settled over the trio until Ken decided to ask the question that was bugging him. "Urahara-san, how is Tatsuki's training going to change? Are you going to be at the dojo now or what?"

"What are you talking about, Ken?" the girl in question asked.

Ken let out a deep sigh. "After what happened this afternoon, Urahara-san doesn't trust me with training you and wants to oversee it personally."

"And I plan to do exactly that." Urahara replied. "I will admit that whatever methods you have been using are remarkably effective, Greyson-san. Maybe it's because you got lucky and Arisawa-san has similar abilities to you, or maybe you are that great a teacher, but your actions today exposed her to something she was in no way prepared for. It is because of this that I will oversee the rest of her training. To answer your question, your training will take place here. I have a small room under my shop that will serve just fine."

"Are you saying I can't take care of myself!?" Tatsuki shouted. "That wasn't the first De-" A glare cut her off. "Hollow that I've faced! There was the one in Orihime's room and the one I fought at school."

"You are correct. You have faced Hollows before." Urahara said flatly. "Though, tell me, how did those confrontations turn out? What was going through your head when I showed up today?" he asked. Any retort Tatsuki could have made never made it past her throat. One fight ended with her severely bleeding and the other one had her almost killing Orihime before getting knocked comatose by said redhead. "You have the willingness to fight, but you don't have the tools to do so, yet. There's another part to me watching over you two. Once you've mastered what Greyson-san is teaching you, I will help both of you discover the true power of your zanpakutos."

"Our what?" Ken asked.

"Zanpakuto. Every shinigami has one. While you obviously are not a shinigami, I believe that your weapon is basically the same. May I see it?"

Somewhat hesitantly, Ken solidified his blade and handed it to the man. As he took hold, Tatsuki thought she saw a small spark jump from the grip to Urahara's hand. Urahara was surprised that the katana had actual weight to it. _To be able to solidify a spiritual object that's not only visible, but __has weight? The amount of focus and control needed should be impossible. Maybe the ease in which he did it comes from the way he received it._

"It's good to see that you trust me enough to give me you blade, Greyson-san. Given our conversations before Arisawa-san woke up, I didn't expect you to be so obliging."

"What's he talking about, Ken?"

"It's nothing. Besides, even if he wanted to, he couldn't hurt me with my own sword. He couldn't even hit me with it. No one can." It wasn't said as a boast, just a statement of fact.

"That is quite a claim. You won't be insulted f I try to prove you wrong?"

"By all means. Come at me with intent to kill."

Faster than Tatsuki could follow, Urahara drew the sword and swung it at Ken's neck. Ken didn't so much as flinch. Before the swing connected, though, the sword simply fell out of the shopkeeper's hand and landed next to Ken. Tatsuki looked and saw that the arm that had swung was now hanging limply.

"Impressive." Urahara said. "Would you be willing to share how you managed to shock my arm badly enough that I can't even feel it?"

"Honestly, I don't know how it works." Ken said a little sheepishly. "All of our weapons have some sort of failsafe that doesn't allow anyone other than ourselves to use them. They're all different too. Sara's always misses no matter what we do. You experienced mine. The twins' guns won't work, though they can share with each other without problems. Must be a twin magic thing. Gus' weighs what it normally should, which is a lot. His sword must be three feet…hold on, a little bit of mental math…uh, about one meter wide, a little under two meters long, and maybe ten centimeters thick. No one can even lift the thing. The worst one though is Seth. If anyone tries to use his weapon, they get poisoned. Badly. If Sara hadn't been ready, Gus would've died in less than a minute. We're all careful, but especially when we're around Seth."

"I see." Urahara mused. "Well, I believe we are done here. You two should return to your homes. Oh! Wait a moment." The teens looked at him. "I have some requests for the two of you. My contact who went with Ichigo has given me news that's troubling. Something big is going to happen soon. I believe you two are smart enough to pick your battles, or at least you are, Greyson-san, and I believe that you are capable of stopping Arisawa-san should the need arise-"

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Tatsuki exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Urahara sighed. "It means that you and Ichigo have similar personalities. You're both strong willed, hard headed, care a great deal about your friends, and would go to extreme lengths to save them. However, you have a much better control over your emotions and between the two of you, you will be the one who makes the most rational decision under stress almost every time. Ichigo will likely charge head-on without much thought. I want him to be ready. With that in mind, Arisawa-san, would you be willing to help me with a project I have in mind?"

"Sure, I guess. It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice anyway."

"Thank you. Greyson-san, would you mind fighting any Hollows that decide to appear so that Ichigo and his friends can focus on training?"

"Fine with me, I guess. Just how bad does the horizon look, anyway?"

Urahara's expression was grave. "Very bad."

Ken was silent a moment. "Alright then."

XXX

As the sun rose, its light illuminated a certain hill-top. A multitude of scratches and gashes littered the ground and an enormous crevice that looked like a giant had taken a meat cleaver to the hillside became visible. As the sky continued to brighten, a lone figure sitting on the hill gazed out as the vast complex that surrounded Sokyoku Hill could be seen. Now that he didn't have to worry about his dad barging in with a flying kick, Ichigo had come to enjoy getting up early and watching the sun rise. As he sat there, he closed his eyes and let an unguarded smile onto his face.

"I don't think I've ever seen that face on you, Ichigo." a voice behind him said, breaking his reverie. He turned to see a tall, dark-skinned woman with golden eyes and purple hair walking toward him.

"Well, goat-face isn't here, so that's a plus." Ichigo answered. "But, how did you know where I was, Yoruichi?"

"Just because you mastered bankai in three days and pounded Byakuya-bo into the dust doesn't mean you have any better reiatsu control. Anyone with a half-decent ability to sense reiatsu could find you. You're like a bonfire in the night." Yoruichi smirked. "Even Kenpachi has better control than you, and just look at him." she sighed. "Are you ready to head back to Karakura Town? We're leaving later today."

"I guess." he halfheartedly replied while staring at the rising sun before lowering his head to his arms that were crossed over his knees.

Yoruichi frowned. She had seen Ichigo act like this before when he was training for bankai. It usually meant that he was blaming himself for something that was out of his control. If she didn't break him out of it soon, he would do nothing but sulk. "Stop that, Ichigo!" she snapped at the boy. "I know you're blaming yourself for something and don't want to deal with your hero complex right now. Whatever's bothering you, you don't have to deal with on your own." Her face and voice softened as her student's head popped up and stared at her. "You have friends who are willing to help you. Most of them would rather go with you and get hurt than get left behind and stay safe. You only insult them by trying to keep them away. Never forget that."

Ichigo lowered his eyes as he let the words sink in. Even if he could accept that his friends would rather fight with him, he wouldn't allow them to be hurt if there was anything he could do about it. "I guess you're right. If only I had been stronger then Aizen…" he began before being stopped by a flare of reiatsu coming from Yoruichi. Even if he could beat her in a fight, and he wasn't even sure if he could, he would be lying if he said he wasn't scared of his teacher.

"Aizen was something no one could have predicted. You being stronger wouldn't have made any difference. That bastard probably had back-up plans for his back-up plans. Move past it for now. We know he's a major threat and that he has a plan. All we can really do is train and hope we're ready when he makes his move. I'll leave you to your sunrise now, but keep in mind what I said. It's good to see you at peace." she said while turning and flash stepping away.

It was unfortunate for Yoruichi that here student was so thick-headed. He heard what she said, but it wasn't enough to stop him from swearing that he wouldn't let another friend get taken like Rukia again.

* * *

Oh am I going to have fun with that promise when the Arrancar show up.

Urahara hiding was an agreement he and Ken came up with. He would hide and when Tatsuki developed her skills enough to notice him, he would take an active role in her training. That obviously didn't go so well.

The Demons Urahara's referring to can be found in the Ars Goetia also known as the Lesser Key of Solomon and include beings such as Bael, Asmodeus, and Astaroth. If the Vandenreich are the cause for the Gotei, these guys are the reason for the Zero Division. If the story wants it to, next chapter, Tatsuki will get her weapon. The only scene I had planned to write for this chapter was the dojo. Everything else came up while I was writing it. That's mostly the reason it took so long.

I feel like I should explain Tatsuki's reaction to the Hollow this chapter. Yes, she fought against Numb Chandelier. However, she had no idea what it was and what it was capable of. Now she does. It's like if you had never seen or heard of a bear before and a friend was attacked. You'd probably rush in to help them. Then later, someone showed up and explained what a bear was and showed you pictures of maulings. The next time you're face to face with a bear, you'd be extremely nervous too. The moral of the story is that Hollows are a lot scarier than bears, unless they're bear Hollows.


	5. Chapter 5

Antex: Thanks for reviewing all of the chapters. What the Sword is in this story is a surprise that will take some time to get to, so be patient. Mostly these ideas come to me around 1 AM when I'm awake in bed. The entire back half of chapter four and this entire chapter were written after midnight on my iPhone.

Stoneheart: If I read your review correctly, you were asking if the Sword is every zanpakuto combined. No, it isn't.

I don't own Bleach. I do own my OCs.

Thanks to Sen22 for letting me use his sketch.

* * *

"You're joking." Ken said as he and Tatsuki walked toward school for the beginning of the new semester. "The favor Urahara-san wants is for you to be kidnapped?"

"Apparently, he's setting up a series of tests for Ichigo to complete and me disappearing is supposed to serve as a kind of impetus to get them to work under stress" Tatsuki explained.

"And your friends won't think it's weird that _you_ were taken? Just like that, without a struggle?"

"As far as they know, I'm a regular human who got taken by some spirit being and needs them to come rescue me."

Ken barked out a laugh. "The day you're kidnapped and wait for someone to come charging to the rescue is the day Seth sits down for a heart-to-heart with me. Or with anyone really."

"I've never met him, but that analogy gives me a good idea of what kind of person Seth is."

The duo walked in silence for a while before Ken asked "Are you really not going to tell your friends than you know about this spirit world stuff? I don't see the point in keeping it a secret from people we'll probably run into while fighting D- Hollows."

"You're probably right, but I knew something was going on before you showed up, and I'd like to think my friends trust me enough to tell me about what they're doing." _Even if my two closest friends have already lied to my face._ It was hard to keep the bitter edge off her thoughts. "So, what's the plan for after school? More sitting in silence?"

Ken sighed as he thought back to the last few days.

X

Urahara's "little" room had turned out to be a sprawling…room didn't begin to describe it. For one thing there was no obvious light source. For another, it was HUGE! You could barely see the walls, if you could tell walls were there. The entire place looked like a desert wasteland, which made some amount of sense given the kind of training that went on in there.

After the shock wore off, they got down to training. Ken was able to move much farther than in the dojo, so Tatsuki's abilities had been forced to sharpen much faster to compensate.

She hadn't realized how far she'd progressed until the night before last. She was woken up when she felt a ki begin to blanket everything. A little worried, she tried to focus on it and found several other kis including Urahara's. It took a moment, but suddenly she knew, absolutely and without question, that Ichigo and her friends were back. After that realization, she took a moment to try to study her friends' energies. Ichigo's was everywhere. Now she understood what the shopkeeper meant when he explained that Ichigo's poor control caused his, what was the word, reiatsu, to leak and lead to Orihime and Chad getting powers. It made her feel comfortable, though. In some ways, Ichigo's ki reminded her of the ocean: expansive, powerful, but always there.

Orihime's ki felt like, Orihime. There was a kind of barely controlled chaos that hid something dark. Tatsuki thought of what her friend had gone through even before this supernatural stuff. She'd never really asked about Orihime's childhood, but, from what she had gathered, it seemed like Orihime's parents were either neglectful or abusive to the point that her brother ran away from home and took Orihime with him out of fear for their wellbeing. Then he had died and left Orihime alone without anyone to take care of her for years. How much more pain and sadness would she have to hide behind her cheerful smile and friendly attitude.

Tatsuki moved to the next ki because she could swear that focusing on Orihime was causing her to smell one of her culinary "masterpieces" and her stomach wasn't having any of it. The next one reminded her of a mountain. Looming, sturdy, and protective. Probably Chad. She hadn't talked to the giant much, and when she had, there wasn't much said. Even so, he was a good friend to Ichigo and seemed like he would stand by his friends to the end.

The next one felt different from the others, more precise, but it still seemed familiar. She saw the face and tried to remember the name that went with it. Dark hair, glasses, came off as a bit of a snob. Maybe that last one was intentional. After all, Glasses had gone with them to help save Rukia.

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt. Rukia. Had they managed to save her or was she dead…undead? re-dead? What so you call a spirit after they're killed? Can you kill a spirit?

She brought her thoughts back under control and back to the first issue. Urahara had said that Rukia was going to be executed, so it would make sense that those doing the executing wouldn't want it to stop. Ichigo had gone to stop it and come back. So either he rescued her and got the execution called off or he beat down every single person who tried to stop him. She decided it was probably both.

The last ki made her pause. She had no idea who it could be. And it was tiny. Not in the doesn't-have-a-lot-of-power way, but in the this-person-is-small way. Whoever it was, their power was deep and controlled. It reminded her of the shopkeeper a little. Maybe this was his informant. He obviously knew when and where they were going to show up, seeing how he was there when she was woken up. There were other presences, but she didn't recognize any of them. Well, her friends had come back safely, and that, she realized, was what she had been hoping for ever since she knew they were leaving her behind. It still hurt being lied to, but she realized that she had nothing to offer then. Now, things were different. The next time something happened, she'd be ready.

That's what she'd said before Ken decided the next day that she was ready to form her weapon. As it turned out, the way to do that was to meditate until something happened. According to Ken, it took him over a month before he figured out how it worked for him. The process was individualized, so all he could do was give broad, generic advice. She had to figure out the details herself.

X

"I know it's annoying, but that's the only way I know how to do it." Ken said apologetically as they continued walking. "Maybe Urahara-san could give you some advice. He seems to always know what's going on and has a plan for it."

"Maybe, but something about him makes me nervous." Tatsuki replied.

She was going to continue but they turned a corner and the school came into view. They might have been able to continue their conversation if Ken hadn't been the new foreign kid. As it was, all conversation stopped before new one sprung up in hushed tones.

"Be honest," he asked Tatsuki out of the corner of his mouth, "what should I expect today?"

Tatsuki smirked. "A lot of staring, a few gaijin comments, and don't be surprised if some punks try to pick a fight with you for no reason."

"Great," Ken sighed "can't wait."

"If you want, you can pretend your Japanese isn't great and find out what they really think about you."

He cracked a smile. "Sounds like fun. I gotta go meet the principal. See ya later." He waved good-bye and ran through the gate into the school.

"Tatsuki-chan!"

Tatsuki turned to see a well-endowed redhead running to her. "Hey Orihime. Ready for school to start again?"

"Yes sir." Orihime said while saluting. "I, Inoue Orihime, will do her best!"

"Uh, okay. Mind explaining why you're acting…on second thought, I don't want to know. It's good to see you again."

The two walked to their classroom, and saw that Chad and Glasses were already there. "Good morning Sado-kun, Ishida-kun." Orihime greeted cheerfully.

_Ishida! That was his name._ Tatsuki thought. She was only mildly surprised that there were already rumors about Ken going around. Most were what would be expected, but some had to have been made in an attempt to embarrass him. There were one or two that almost made her burst out in laughter at how ridiculous they were. Now that she was surrounded by so many people, she began to realize how much more refinement she had to do in sensing ki. She could tell where people were, but location was the best she could do.

Ichigo entered the classroom as usual with pained groans of Keigo following him. "Yo." he said as he walked over and dropped his bag on his desk. "Have you all heard about the new transfer student? He's supposedly some hotshot son of an American businessman who had to flee the country."

It took all of her training, spiritual and physical, to not fall out of her seat laughing, but Tatsuki managed. "You know those are only rumors, right? He's probably a good kid that some people are trying to get in trouble. Isn't that right, dye-job?"

Ichigo's scowl defied logic and deepened. Even after all these years, rumors that his hair was dyed still spread from time to time, usually after he beat up some bully. "Maybe you're right, Tatsuki." he said. "Still, it's strange for an American to show up here in the middle of the school year."

"America's school year starts in the fall and ends in the spring." Tatsuki corrected before her friends looked at her funny. "What?"

"How do you know that?" Orihime asked with the curious look of a child.

"It's…just something I learned over the summer." Tatsuki answered. "Speaking of which, what happened while you were visiting your relatives Orihime?"

"Hmmm. Well, we did all sorts of things." she answered.

Tatsuki braced her chin in her hand. "Like what?"

"Oh, um…" Orihime continued. "we…caught fireflies and ate watermelon and made a lot of new recipes."

"Sounds like you had fun. Did you bring anything back?" Tatsuki asked.

"No. Sorry, Tatsuki-chan." Orihime apologized. "Maybe next time." She added.

Tatsuki kept the disappointment off of her face. _You're lying to me, Orihime. You've never gone anywhere without bringing back something. Don't you trust me?_

Further thoughts were put on hold as the bell rang and class started. It was the usual start-of-semester stuff until someone shouting for Ichigo showed up outside. Tatsuki and most of the class looked out the window to see a man with bright red hair and dressed in clothes several decades out of style shouting at the top of his lungs. "Those clothes, how nostalgic." Misato Ochi said before turning to Ichigo. "Is he-" was all she got out before Ichigo sprinted out of the room claiming the man was a relative. "Eh, he'll come back eventually." she said like a student hadn't just run out of her classroom to go talk to a strange man and continued her lesson.

Tatsuki's mind drifted. Given Ichigo's, Yuzu's and Masaki's hair, it wasn't immediately impossible for the man to be related to him from his mother's side. Still, her instinct told her that there was more to the visitor than that. His ki was bigger than it should be, though his control kept it in check. Almost in answer to that thought, a sense of dread washed over her. "Hollow." she whispered to herself. Sure enough, she saw Orihime, Chad, and Ishida tense and all look towards the window. _Kinda obvious that they're looking at something_ she thought before glancing out the window. She saw a gigantic Hollow walking across the P.E. fields. Its head was easily even with their classroom window. As it got closer, the other three who could see it were getting more and more nervous. Tatsuki was wondering where Ichigo was and with a little focus was able to feel him sprinting up behind the Hollow before bisecting it. As it faded away, Orihime let out a cheer.

"What was that for?"

Orihime looked up to see the whole class staring at her and the teacher standing at her desk. "Eheheheh" she laughed out until most of the class joined her.

Ichigo eventually returned to the classroom and the day continued on as normal until lunch. While eating, Tatsuki heard murmurs in the hall before the door opened and Ken walked into the class.

Ken looked around the room before seeing Tatsuki and walking over. "Hey Tatsuki. I think I met your teacher in the hall. She gave me a look and called me a Yankee." The last part of his sentence was said in an insulted tone.

Tatsuki sighed. "That's just how Ochi-sensei is. She probably didn't mean to offend you."

"I mean, the farthest north I've ever been is Oklahoma or northern New Mexico. Actually, now that I think about it, Lubbock probably holds that title." he continued.

Tatsuki stared for a moment before explaining. "I think you're confused. A 'yankee' is someone who doesn't follow the rules and is disruptive. A delinquent."

"Well I'm not that either. I take offense to being called a yankee either way. I was born in Texas and raised in the South. Oh, also, I might have started some rumors about us. I didn't know which class you were in, so I ended up asking around for you."

While this conversation was happening, Ichigo's group had the same thought running through their heads; _who is this guy?_ Ichigo also noticed that he was being very familiar with his friend and wasn't bothering with honorifics. That didn't trouble him as much as Tatsuki didn't seem to mind. _This kid's obviously a foreigner. He must be the transfer student._ "How do you know Tatsuki? Isn't this your first day here?" he asked a little more aggressively than he intended to.

Tatsuki saw an unsettling gleam in Ken's eye before he turned to her. "You mean you haven't told your friends about us? Are you embarrassed of me?" he asked with just enough melodrama that Tatsuki knew he was trying to get a reaction. From who, she wasn't sure.

Orihime gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "Are you two…together, Tatsuki-chan?" she asked conspiratorially.

"What?! Orihime, he just said we weren't together." She answered strongly.

"Actually, I never said that." Ken interjected. "Though it doesn't make it any less true. Tatsuki ran into me shortly after I arrived on town and was lost looking for my apartment. She gave me directions and it turns out we both do martial arts. We've been training together all summer. She also kicks my ass in Teken."

"Thanks for reminding me." Tatsuki said. "You owe me for any rumors that got started about me today. We're going to the arcade and you're paying for both of us."

Ken gaped a little before slumping his shoulders. "Fine. We'll sit around and do nothing at the arcade after school."

_Dammit._ Tatsuki thought.

What martial art?" Chad asked.

Ken turned and paused as he took on the sight of the tan giant sitting. "I'm not trying to be rude, but you can't be Japanese. Where are you from?"

"I was born in Okinawa, but spent most of my childhood with my abuelo in Mexico before returning to Japan. You didn't answer my question." he answered calmly.

"Mexico, huh. I've never been there myself. To answer your question, I train in aikido. Tatsuki was interested in its philosophy. The first time we spared, I beat Tatsuki."

"You did not!" the girl exclaimed. "I knocked you flat on your ass."

"That was only after I let you out of a pin you'd been trying to escape from for well over a minute. I could've held you there all day and you know it." he shot back.

"So, wait," Orihime said "who won?"

"Eh, it was a spar." Ken answered. "The point was to learn and practice techniques, not to beat the other person into the ground. So I guess we both won."

"You just don't want to admit I beat you." Tatsuki said.

"Curses! You've found me out!" he replied with an overly dramatic flourish.

"Wow! Good job, Tatsuki." Orihime cheered as she shot her friend a thumbs up.

_Is she serious?_ Ken asked himself. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "I haven't introduced myself. My name's Kennith Greyson. You can call me Ken."

"I'm Inoue Orihime."

"Yasutora Sado. I also go by Chad."

"Ishida Uryu. I would prefer it if you didn't use my first name."

"So that must make you Ichigo." Ken finished. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"How did you know my name?" Ichigo asked.

"…You were right; he can be a little dense." Ken said to Tatsuki before facing Ichigo again. "I've been hanging out with your best friend almost every day for the past month. We talk to each other. I've told her about my friends back home; she's told me about you and Orihime."

"Like what?" Orihime asked. She had apparently accepted Ken once she discovered he and Tatsuki were friends.

"Well…" Ken started, "I've heard about your…unique recipes."

"Oh! Do you want to try some? I have a little bit of eggplant, miso, and kimchi onigiri left."

"Ehhh…that's alright. I'm full from my own lunch. Thanks, though." _Dodged a bullet there._ "I should probably head back before the bell rings. It really was nice to meet everyone. Seeya after school, Tatsuki."

After he got up and left, Ichigo turned to Tatsuki. "You've been hanging out with him all summer? Why didn't you say anything this morning?" he asked with a darker than usual scowl.

Tatsuki returned his scowl with one of her own. "I'm sorry Ichigo, but since when do I have to tell you about everything I do? I do have other friends besides you and Orihime, ya know. Besides, you have your secrets; I have mine." she said with a hard edge to her voice. _The difference is I know what you're trying to hide from me._

_Secrets? What is she talking about? It can't be about me being a substitute shinigami. There's no way she knows anything about that._

XXX

The rest of the day went by without any problems. Renji didn't reappear, much to Ichigo's pleasure, but something about the foreign kid bugged him. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something was off. Maybe it's how casual he and Tatsuki are with each other. Ichigo hadn't thought about his relationship with her since before Rukia jumped into his room and life. He'd been too busy with his shinigami duties. They had been almost inseparable when they were younger.

He still remembered when his mom died. Tatsuki had been the one who found him by the riverbank. He didn't remember how long she had stood there watching him as he wallowed in self-reproach, but he would never forget when she sat down and wrapped her arms around him. He was shocked at first. Tatsuki didn't give hugs. Hugs were something other girls did. Tatsuki gave high fives and friendly jabs on the shoulder. But there she was, holding onto him, her best friend, not able to fully understand the pain he was going through, but doing the only thing she could to help. They had stayed like that all afternoon, neither saying a word. Tatsuki hadn't tried to force anything from him; her being there was enough. Ichigo would always be the one who would jump in to help his friends, but that day was when Tatsuki became the rock that he could always fall back on, the pillar he could look to when his life got tough. He'd never told her that; his pride wouldn't allow it. He missed those days, he realized. Back when they were just two friends who hung out. When did they drift apart? He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Ken as he walked out the entrance and headed home.

_No doubt about it. You have pitiful control. _Ken thought as he watched the redhead leave_. No wonder I could find while I was over the Pacific. Whelp, let's go find Tatsuki so I can get beat at Teken._ He quickly found her ki and headed toward it. Him asking for her class had been more of a formality than anything. He could locate everyone he'd met during lunch right now. At this point, Tatsuki could probably do the same thing.

He ended up outside a small building right as Tatsuki was heading for the door. "Yo! My wallet has prepared itself and is ready to begin its suicide mission."

"Hey," she responded. "Your wallet lucked out. First day back and we have to clean the school's dojo. Your virtual beating will have to wait."

"You cannot understand how upset that makes me." Ken said as monotone as humanly possible. "Is the cleanup going to take long?"

"It depends on how many club members actually show up." Her eyes glinted. "You wouldn't be willing to join right now, would you?" she asked a little too sweetly.

Ken brought up his arms in an X. "Bzzzt. No thank you. Besides, I want to get out of this uniform. I'm not used to having to wear one to school. You can find me at Urahara-san's when you're done."

"Wimp!" she called at his retreating back and unlocked the dojo used by the karate club. _Might as well get started._

XXX

More members than she expected showed up, so the cleaning was finished quickly. Once it was done, a couple of members began challenging one another claiming everyone had slacked off during the summer. (A/N: the school club and the neighborhood dojo have some overlap, but they're two separate groups) Sparring began and Tatsuki was struck by an idea while watching. She focused her newfound sensing skills and tried to read the flow of ki like Ken could: using it to predict movement. She didn't have much luck, but she could feel its movement. It was easier to feel with those who made big moves and telegraphed their attacks. She continued watching and doing her own form of training before one of the newer and dumber looking members strode up to her.

"Is watching all you can do, or are you just too weak to actually fight?" he sneered. The older members turned at his voice before looking away and trying to hide their grins. They knew what Tatsuki was capable of. Most had been on the receiving end of her strikes, and they took an unhealthy amount of enjoyment watching newbies try to pick a fight with one of the smaller people on the team.

Tatsuki took in her soon-to-be punching bag. Big, heavy brow, a nose that had been broken a few too many times. It reminded her a little of an ape. He probably joined so he'd have an excuse to beat people up. _Why not? It's been a while since I've outclassed my opponent. I wonder how long I should drag this out._ "You wanna find out?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Oh? The girlie's got a mouth." he taunted. "Let's go. I'll even give you a free shot."

_Do I get to keep the silver platter you're giving me or am I going to have to give it back? _"How gracious. What's your name?"

"Kambara Daisuke. Now let's go!"

By this point, everyone had stopped and was eagerly watching. The two fighters bowed before the Daisuke stood to give Tatsuki her free hit. She was going to try for a one hit KO, but then she had a malicious idea. She drew back her fist while trying to keep the dark chuckle inside her. "Hyaa!" she cried and pulled her punch so that he felt it, but that was it.

There was stunned silence before her opponent started laughing. "That's it!? I give you a free hit and that's the best you can do? I almost feel bad for what I'm going to do to you."

_You'll have to hit me first._ she thought.

The fight that followed can barely be called such. Tatsuki might as well have been made of air. Most of the members got over the shock of Tatsuki's abnormally weak punch once they saw she was toying with him. Nothing came close to touching her. Daisuke was obviously getting frustrated, so she decided to start critiquing him on his form. "You overextended yourself with that kick. You always follow your jab with a roundhouse. Your stance gets sloppier the longer you fight."

This drove him from frustrated to enraged. "Shut up! Can't you take a punch? Or are you too scared to actually fight me?"

"Why would I let myself get hit if I know I can avoid it?" Tatsuki asked as she danced away from an attempted grapple. "That seems like something only an idiot would do." _Still, it's amazing how well I can read his movements. I'm starting to see why Ken fights the way he does._ "Come on. I haven't even done anything yet and you're already getting winded. You should probably do more endurance training."

"I said to SHUT UP!" the boy roared as he charged Tatsuki again. He was bigger than her. He was stronger than her. She was a girl. She should be begging for mercy now.

Again he missed as she slipped through his attack and past him. By this point it seemed that everyone except Daisuke understood that he was pitifully outclassed. Unfortunately this fact was lost on him as he raged again. "I was prefecture champion two years ago! I am not going to lose to some girl who can't even throw a punch!"

Tatsuki again sidestepped a jab. "Okay, I'm getting bored. Time to end this." Tatsuki said as she rushed forward and punched him in the same spot as before the match. Daisuke stopped as most of the air was forced out of his body. "First place in your prefecture two years ago, huh? I'm sure your mother's proud." Tatsuki said as she watched him slump onto the mat. "I came in second at nationals this summer…" She began walking away and looked back when she was at the edge of the mat. "…and I did it with a broken arm."

Cheers and laughter broke out while Tatsuki gathered her things and left.

As she was heading out, she saw a familiar orange head. "Orihime!"

Orihime turned. "Tatsuki-chan!" Her mouth was stained red by the shaved ice in her hand. "Do you want some?" she offered.

"No thanks. What are you doing here sitting by yourself?"

"Oh, just thinking. Is your hand better?" she asked with some concern.

"You bet it is!" Tatsuki said while doing a fist pump. "I just knocked a guy out with a single punch with it." she said as she sat down next to her best friend.

"Wow. You're amazing, Tatsuki-chan. Compared to you, I'm…" she died off.

Tatsuki heard the sadness in the last bit. _Something's bugging her._ "Is everything alright? What were you thinking about, anyway?" she asked while turning to look at Orihime.

Orihime looked down. "I wasn't much use when I was at So…my relative's house. I thought there might have been something I could have done, but looking back, it seems like I just got in the way and had to have others take care of me."

Tatsuki was silent. _They're still trying to keep me out._ But Orihime sounded depressed, which was very unusual. _This must be really eating at her._ "Orihime…"

Her friend quickly turned to her. "But, a lot of those times were when I heard you cheering me on telling me to do my best. So that's what I did, but I still feel like I was useless."

"Hmph. Are you sure you tried your best?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yes." Orihime said a little dejected that her friend would doubt her like that. Her mood changed when she got a light rap on the head.

"Then that's all that matters. It was your choice to go, right? You don't get to decide if you were helpful or not. You went and were able to come back. Welcome back, Orihime." She watched as Orihime's gloomy expression changed to a smile. _I'm glad I could help._

While Orihime was thankful for Tatsuki's encouragement, she felt bad for another reason. The group that went to rescue Rukia had decided to keep everything a secret among themselves. She desperately wanted to tell Tatsuki everything that happened, but Ishida had a point when he said that even if a person believed what they said, unless he or she had powers, it wouldn't do any good. So she kept quiet and dug onto her shaved ice with gusto. I hope you can forgive me.

XXX

"…the theory seems sound, but it'll take some time before either of us can actually try it out. Hey Tatsuki."

After walking Orihime home, Tatsuki headed over to Urahara's shop and into the training grounds. After finding Ken's and Urahara's ki, she made her way over to the duo. "Even though I know how you can do that, it's still creepy to have someone know where you are without looking." she said as she walked up behind Ken who hadn't turned to face her since she could see them.

"You mean you haven't done it yet? You should be able to, especially with Ichigo. I can tell where he is even through Urahara-san's barriers."

"Those are not my handiwork, but that of Tessai-san."

"That's great," Tatsuki said briskly, "but what were you two just talking about? It sounded like it involved me."

"Actually, it involves both of us." Ken answered. "Urahara-san noticed something strange about the way I manipulate ki. If his theory works, I might be able to make some sort of armor. And since I'm training you, you'll be able to also."

"Make armor? Like how you make your sword?" Tatsuki asked as a mental picture formed of Ken in samurai gear.

"Not quite." Urahara replied. "Allow me to explain further. I first noticed this when Greyson-san and I were sparing this afternoon. He reacted in a way I hadn't seen before when I flared my reiatsu. Let me demonstrate."

With that, Tatsuki suddenly felt like a massive weight was dropped on her. On instinct, she tried to fight it with strength, but was soon forces to a knee. "This isn't physical. It's spiritual." Ken said. He didn't seem to mind what was happening, but Tatsuki could tell that his ki was doing something. Taking that into consideration, she tried to project as much energy as she could outward. The weight felt lighter, and she was able to stand again."

"Not bad, Arisawa-san. I'm impressed at the speed at which you've gained control over your reiatsu." Urahara praised. "But you are doing what every other entity I know of does when confronted with a strong reiatsu. You are pushing back with your own. You should be skilled enough to tell what Greyson-san is doing instead."

Tatsuki looked back at Ken and saw that he didn't seem to be pushing against the waves of ki coming off of the shopkeeper. It fact, she could barely sense his ki at all. "You're doing something. I just…it's too small to make out."

Ken smirked. "Tell me Tatsuki, what's the hardest material on Earth?"

"Um, some metal alloy?"

"Wrong. Think gemstones."

"…diamonds?"

"Correct. Now, how are diamonds made? Figure that out, and you'll understand Urahara-san's idea."

Great. Another riddle. Adding a mental sigh, she thought about it. After sorting through thoughts that included jewelry she'd never wear, she had it. "Diamonds are made when carbon's put under high pressure."

"Technically, you need heat, too, but you got the important part. Now make that information useful for this situation."

It was getting harder to concentrate while pushing back against Urahara_. Think fast. Diamonds under pressure. Plenty of that. I'm the diamond. Let myself be crushed? No, Ken wasn't doing that. Very little ki. Compress it. Use the pressure to compress my ki use control to keep myself from being crushed._

Ken couldn't help but smile as he felt the subtle shifts in how Tatsuki was projecting her ki. According to Urahara, a few of the really strong captains had so much ki, reiatsu, that it created a passive defense that made it difficult to even pierce their skin. He knew that he didn't have nearly enough reserves for that, Tatsuki probably didn't either, but given his level of control, he could use the pressure created by others to get a similar effect. The theory mixed well with his aikido ideology by using an opponent's energy against them. The stronger the opponent or the more energy they pushed out, the stronger his defense would become. He was also glad that Tatsuki was figuring out how to do it so quickly.

By now, Tatsuki was making a final few changes. The pressure was still there, but now it felt more like she was wearing tight, form-fitting clothes or a compression suit instead of having a lead blanket dropped on top of her. She also noticed that she didn't have to use near as much ki as when she started. "So this is what you meant. But it doesn't feel like I'm that protected."

"That's because you're not." Urahara said as Tatsuki felt the pressure lessen to a more manageable level. "Still, it is no small feat for someone with your level of reiatsu to go through what you just did as well as you did."

"Thanks. But how am I going to make this armor?" she asked.

"I believe that as your control increases and you become more comfortable with using your reiatsu, it will occur naturally." Urahara answered.

"So how will I know when it works?" Tatsuki continued.

"I can show you that." Ken said as he formed his sword. "Listen." He tapped the flat of his blade against his arm.

"…What was I supposed to hear?" Tatsuki asked with a little bit of doubt.

"Nothing, that was what metal hitting flesh should sound like. Urahara-san, if you would?"

Again Tatsuki felt a weight descend on her. This time, though, it was easier and much faster to make herself comfortable.

"I only started this a little while ago, but my control's much better than yours." Ken explained as he again tapped the blade to his arm. However, instead of the whap she heard before, Tatsuki heard a ting like metal on metal or stone.

"So we're going to test our progress by getting hit with a sword?" Tatsuki asked.

"A sword, a rock, a lead pipe. Take your pick. This _is_ supposed to be some form of armor." Ken said. "For now, though, you get to try to make your weapon. While this pressure is up."

Tatsuki groaned, but accepted the situation and began to focus inward.

* * *

So that's the end of this chapter. This is the fastest I've written one of these and hopefully will continue, but I doubt it. Sorry for no weapon, but the school day went on for longer than I thought it would. I did have a flash of inspiration on when she will make it, though. I'm just not sure when I'll get to it.

I will be including some filler arcs as a way to give Tatsuki more time to train and refine her skills. Otherwise she'd have to go from nothing to able to hold her own against Lieutenants and some Captains in the span of a little under a month. That's too fast for my liking. I'm also going to stretch out the Las Noches rescue mission to more than one day. (Seriously. According to the timeline on the Bleach wiki, they leave to rescue Orihime the night of October 10 and Aizen's beaten by October 11)

Tatsuki trying to find specific people right now is like trying to find a water jet in a pool or an A/C vent in a room while blindfolded. You can find the substance; water, air, or reiatsu, easily, but finding the source takes a while. She will get much better at it.


End file.
